Mysteries in New York City
by Esperanza Hyde the Vamp Queen
Summary: My name is Sophie Renae McFadden. I live in Plano, Texas with my parents & older sister. We took a trip to New York once when I was 10 & I made a friend there. After 5 years & a terrible accident that left me homeless, I find myself back in New York with Ethan, the guy I met. Then I meet green, walking humanoid turtles one night while searching for Ethan when he disappeared RaphXOC
1. Hello New York! part 1

**Hello people! This is my new TMNT story, Mysteries in New York City. I will be switching back and forth through this story line to my other one in Transformers Prime: Outcasts and Autobots. Check that one out whenever you get the chance.**

**This is my first TMNT fic and it will be the 2012 Nickelodeon version. I hope you all like it and plus, there will be no Turtles at first. You have to meet my OCs and get to know them a little. Please give this story a chance. Without further ado, read on!**

**I own: my OCs**

**Nickelodeon owns: This version of TMNT.**

**Sophie's POV**

"Mama, why're we not going to Florida?" I asked as she closed the trunk of the car. She put my suitcase in last and handed me my pillow.

"Because there's too many hurricanes happening in Florida and the vacation house we usually rent out got flooded." Mama explained as she led me to the other side of the car. I got in and buckled up. My older sister, Caroline, is already sitting in her seat behind Daddy.

"I've heard about New York. Nancy told me about it when she went to visit during spring break last year." Caroline said as she brushed her hair. "She said that she wanted to move there with me when we're older."

"Maybe one day, sweetheart." Daddy said as he backed out of the driveway of our home and started driving to the airport. I've been to the airport many times.

Ever since I turned 7 years old, we've been taking trips to Florida during the summer. Thanks to the hurricanes in Florida, our beach house flooded and now we have to go to New York. We live in Plano, Texas and it's pretty here. Now that I'm 10, we've been traveling more to other places. Caroline has been bringing her friends along on trips, but they don't stay as long.

I wish I had friends. I'm shy and not many people talk to me. The only friend I had moved away during first grade. Caroline is 12 years old and older than me by 2 years. She's starting middle school in August and she wants more clothes to make her look pretty. Caroline also wants makeup, a cell phone and a purse. I don't know why she wants this stuff. Caroline said it was because all of her friends were doing it and she was starting middle school in the fall.

We make it to the airport and some people help us with our stuff. Daddy holds onto my passport for me until we get to the nice lady checking them. I could see my name on my passport. Sophie Renáe McFadden.

Everyone says I look just like Mama when I was little. I have brown eyes and black hair that I like to donate. Anytime my hair gets a certain length, I have Mama take me to the hair salon to cut it off and send to people who have cancer for a wig. My hair grows fast, so I don't mind it when it's short. Right now, my hair is to my lower back. I have pale skin for some reason and Caroline has tan-colored skin. She said it was from tanning out in the sun. I tried it before, but I only end up getting sunburned. I guess I'm short for my age, but Daddy doesn't think so.

Right now, we go through the metal detector and security before getting on the plane. As we're waiting for the plane to take off, I tap my fingers against the armrest.

I've never been to New York in my lfe. Are there many houses there? How many tall buildings are there? Are there gonna be any nice kids at the hotel we're staying in?

"Mama, is New York gonna be fun?" I asked. She was sitting to my left and Caroline was in the seat next to the aisle.

"Yes, sweetheart. We're all going to have lots of fun in New York." Mama said and squeezed my hand as the plane started to move. I looked out the window and felt the plane move faster as we took off. We wouldn't get to New York until 7:00 pm and I had my pillow for a nap. I leaned back against my pillow and looked out the window. I watched as the land disappeared and all I could see was clouds. It looked peaceful and I felt myself getting sleepy.

'I hope this New York trip will be fun.' I thought to myself and closed my eyes. 'I wonder if I'll meet new people and make new friends.' After a couple of minutes, I felt sleep take over and I went to Dreamland.

**Hours later going through the hotel doors...**

"Oh, wow! This place is huge!" I say and look up at the hotel we're staying in. We were staying around the most popular city in New York and every building was huge! Even the airport is huge! I had slept through the entire ride and woke up in a taxi cab.

"Keep it down, Sophie. You're embarrassing me." Caroline said as she looked around. "Mom, can we go to a mall after this? I wanna see the clothes and shoes."

"Maybe later, dear. First we need to unpack and go eat dinner." Mama said as she gave the luggage to a hotel worker. "Hold these, please. Caroline, please get that cart for me." Caroline pushed the cart to Mama and I helped put some stuff on the cart.

After 20 minutes, we had everything inside the hotel room. We were on the top floor and I looked out the window. I could see the whole city and it was so pretty! I felt like the queen of the world as I looked at the city. New York was so beautiful.

"Sophie, we're going to a fancy restaurant. Get your best dress on." Mama said and I got my dress out of the suitcase. I changed in one of the closets because both bathrooms were being used by Caroline and Daddy. After I got changed, we walked to the restaurant.

I admired all of the tall buildings and the pretty lights. It was so beautiful. There was a line at the restaurant and it wasn't as long as I thought it would be. We waited outside and I saw a boy standing in front of us in line with his parents.

He had on a dressy shirt and khaki pants. His hair was really curly and blond. He had skin color like Caroline's and his eyes were blue. He was tall and possibly older than me. Both of our parents started talking to each other and Caroline used Mama's phone to text her friends.

"Hey." the boy said and I shyly waved.

"Hi." I said and rubbed my arm. I'm not really good with making friends. The only friend I had moved away along time ago.

"My name is Ethan Decker. What's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Sophie McFadden." I introduced myself.

"My grandmother's name was Sophie." Ethan said and suddenly I don't feel so scared.

"Really?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, but she died about 2 years ago." Ethan said and bowed his head.

"I'm so sorry." I said.

"Both my grandmother and grandfather are dead." Ethan said.

"If it makes you feel any better, both of my grandparents are dead." I said. "They died not too long ago."

"Sorry to hear that. I guess that's one thing we have in common." Ethan said and I smiled.

"Yeah. I never knew anyone who had something in common with me." I said. "I never really had a friend before. The only friend I had and she moved away when we started first grade. I never get to talk to her because we don't have their number. I miss her and she made school fun for me."

"I'm sorry. I only have two friends I hardly see them anymore because they move around alot." Ethan said. "That's another thing we have in common."

"Where do your friends move around to? My friend went to California." I asked. Ethan checked to see if our parents were busy talking to each other before leaning in to my ear.

"They're cousins and their family's house burnt down 5 months ago during a family gathering. All of the kids were playing outside and they lived. Most of their cousins and siblings were taken to the orphanage and split up. They both escaped together and police have been trying to find them." Ethan explained and my eyes widened. "I met them on the basketball court and we palyed ball for a while before I noticed who they were. We got to know each other and I didn't want to turn them in or split the up and lose the only friends I had. I guess the cops must be close because I haven't heard anything from them and I didn't see them on the news or in the paper."

"Wow. I hope they show up soon." I said. "They sound ok to me. And I'll keep this a secret. You're my friend." Ethan smiled.

"Thanks, Sophie." Ethan said and hugged me. I hugged him back.

"Come on, you two. We're all sitting together." Daddy said and Ethan gave me a high five. We sat down at the table and talked about everything.

Ethan liked to free style rap and I sang anything. We could both dance pretty well and we both wanted to act in the future. Ethan was funny and I laughed at his jokes. We had so much in common. The only difference was our ages; he's 13 and I'm 10. He was already a teenager.

His parents were nice and they also invited us to a karaoke restaurant for dinner tomorrow. Mama thought it would be a good place to show some people that I can sing. Daddy wanted to go because the person who gets the most votes gets their meal free.

After we got done eating, we all had to split ways. I didn't want to leave, but I'll have a chance to see Ethan again tomorrow.

"Where do you live in New York?" Ethan asked as our parents paid for our food.

"We don't live here. We live in Plano, Texas." I said and looked away. "We're just staying for a while on vacation. I hope you're not mad."

"No, I wouldn't get mad at you." Ethan said and I looked at him with hope. "We can stay in touch by phones. My parents will and I'm sure yours would, too."

"Ok. I just still can't believe that you're my friend." I said and hugged him.

"Of course I'm still your friend." Ethan said as we both hugged. "Friends are forever."

"Let's go, Ethan." his mother said and Ethan let me go.

"See you later, Sophie." Ethan called and waved as they walked away.

"Bye, Ethan!" I called and waved back. "See you tomorrow!" Mama took my hand and we walked back to the hotel. I got dressed for bed once we got there. I was so sleepy. I smiled at what happened today. For the first time in my life since first grade, I had a friend who had a lot in common with me. I laid on the bed and closed my eyes. I had a big day tomorrow.

**First chapter finished! So, many of you want to know what Sophie looks like when she's older? I will have a picture up as the cover of this story. She is a mixture of Dakota Fanning and Rowan Blanchard, so she's not a real person.**

**Sorry it seems rushed. I have so much going on and school coming up, plus graduation. Also, the one year birthday of Transformers Prime: Outcasts and Autobots is soon on January 29. Make sure to read it if you haven't!**

**The turtles will not be showing just yet in this story. I have to get Sophie all introduced and everything.**

**Please read and review and no flames!**


	2. Hello New York! part 2

**Hey, it's time for a new chapter! Sadly, the turtles will not be in this chapter either. I have to get some things out of the way first. So, I guess some of you liked the first chapter and that's a good thing. Now we have Sophie spending more time with her friend Ethan and singing a song for them. Now, time for the story!**

**I own: My OC's**

**Nickelodeon owns: This version of TMNT**

**I don't own Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie**

**Sophie POV**

"Sophie, we're going to the mall! Hurry and get ready!" Caroline called from the bathroom. I ran over to my drawer with some clothes and I put on my pretty, shrilly shirt and my purple shorts. Caroline was already waiting eagerly at the door when I walked out of the room. She looked at my outfit and then frowned.

"Why are you wearing that to the mall? Why not put on a dress for tonight at dinner?" Caroline asked as she gestured to her outfit. She already put on her pink dress and she left out the leggings.

"Because we're coming back to the room, aren't we?" I asked and looked at Mama, who just came out to the hall.

"Yes, we're coming back to the room because your father has to take a shower and get his tux washed." Mama said. "He managed to get mustard on it somehow. So now it's just us going to the mall."

"Ok. Can we go see the new sales for JC Penny?" Caroline asked and I rolled my eyes. Her friends just started getting their outfits shown in the JC Penny magazines, so now Caroline has to get every single outfit she likes from there. I don't see what the big fuss is about. I mean, they're just clothes, no big deal.

"Yes, Caroline. We'll check out some clothes from JC Penny." Mama said and grabbed her purse. "Are you two ready to go?"

"Yes, Mom." "Yes, Mama." Me and Caroline say at the same time.

"Bye, girls!" Daddy calls from the other side of the room.

"Bye, Dad." "Bye, Daddy!" Me and Caroline say againa at the same time. Caroline gave me an annoyed look as we walked out the door.

"Why do you call them that? Don't you think you're too old for that?" Caroline asked as we trailed behind Mama.

"I don't really care what I call them. All of the names means the same." I said and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I just think that you're getting too old to call them that." Caroline said and I rolled my eyes.

"And I don't care what I call them. It all means the same." I said and we reached the car. Taking the car to the mall made more sense so that if we did buy anything, we didn't have to carry it all in our arms back to the hotel.

The drive wasn't too long and I felt at peace when I looked out at the buildings. It looked pretty during the morning, too. People say that New York is the city that never sleeps. I can see that it's true. There were so many people out on the streets, they can fill up a school.

"We need to get to the mall fast before the lunch rush." Mama said and I looked at her in confusion.

"Why, Mama?" I asked.

"Because lunch rush is when everyone in the city goes to lunch and the traffic is terrible." Mama answered. "You can hardly move a foot in an hour while stuck in this traffic."

"Wow." I said and looked back out the window. There were so many shops and restaurants around. We were hoping to check out the restaurant we're going to tonight as we pass by. It's one of the shops that are across from the mall.

"Hey, look. There's the restaurant we're meeting the Deckers." Mama said as she points out the other window. I do my best to crane my neck and see it, but Caroline's head blocked most of my view. Some people were eating outside on a deck and the building was a dark shade of purple and black. The sign on it read: Martin's Karaoke Grill.

The car started moving and I kept my eyes on the building until I couldn't see the building anymore. We arrived at one end of the mall and Mama parked the car somewhere near the mall entrance. That place was just as huge inside as it was outside.

"Look at all of the shops!" Caroline said as she stared at the first window we came to. "Why can't I get any clothes from these stores?"

"Because they're for people older than you." Mama said. "Why don't we go to Justice? You and Sophie seemed to like that place."

"I only like a few choice items in there." I said. Only some of the clothes and accessories in there caught my attention. Caroline liked that place alot about a year or two ago, but now she likes these places called Abercrombie and Fitch and Rue 21. They do have pretty clothes and I like a few T-shirts from Hot Topic whenever Caroline wants to check out belly button rings for the future.

Mama said that I can get stuff from these places when I get older and the same goes to Caroline. She's just now getting to the age where she likes these clothes. And now that I'm getting that age soon, Mama said to pick clothes that made me look like the person I'm going to be when i get older. She said that it depends on what kind of person I'm gonna be.

"No. My friends don't shop at Justice anymore." Caroline said and crossed her arms. "Can we go to JC Penny? I wanna see if they got any good shoes."

"We'll get there, ok? Just be a little patient." Mama said as she looked at the thing that held the map of the mall. "First we have to navigate through the mall and find it."

"Here it is!" I say and do my best to point and put my finger on JC Penny. "It's almost in the middle of the mall."

"And now I have a route to get us there." Mama said as she traced her finger from the place we are to JC Penny on the map. "Let's go and maybe we can get lunch at the Food Court whenever we get done looking at stuff."

"So I'm not gonna get anything?" Caroline asked as we started walking.

"Maybe one or two items, Caroline. We have to save our money in case Sophie doesn't win the karaoke contest." Mama said as she held our hands so we don't get lost. "Your father insisted that we give Mr. Decker the money so he can pay for us. I don't want to take any risks."

"Yes, Mom." Caroline said and gave me a look that said we will talk later. I nodded so she knew I would talk to her.

We made it to JC Penny and Caroline practically skipped over to the junior section. I might as well look and see if there's anything I like. After searching in the clearance rack, I found a nice button up shirt and a plaid top. The button up shirt was too big and the plaid shirt was too small. I shrugged and put them back.

Caroline found a Boys shirt and bright pink pants. She also had to try on a few other matching outfits. I agree, they look good on her, but they made her look like an adult. I didn't liek it that much and I liked wearing clothes that had things like a cat or a T-shirt that said, 'I'M NOT SHORT, I'M FUN SIZE!'

I just like jeans and maybe a few overalls from time to time. I don't buy shorts unless I have to practice or to play soccer. Caroline got her outfits and I eventually got a plaid shirt that fit me snug.

"Really? That's all you got?" Caroline asked as Mama paid for the stuff. "I would've got another pair of jeans or something much prettier."

"I liked it and it's comfy." I said in defense. "I also liked the color."

"Whatever. I just hope we come back." Caroline said as Mama grabbed the bags that had our clothes. "Where are we going now, Mom?"

"To the Food Court." Mama said as we walked out of JC Penny. "Traffic is still bad and we might as well eat lunch here." We walked to the Food Court and we all got food from a Chinese outlet. This stuff tasted good and we didn't take long to eat. Caroline wanted to go look around some more, but Mama said that we had to go while traffic wasn't bad. I didn't want to go and look around anymore, so I was thankful for that.

We got in the car and headed back to the hotel and had to wait. I looked around at the buildings around. Some were really tall and I wanted to look down at everything while standing from the tallest windows. It sounds and looks fun.

"Mom, will we be back in time for me to try on my outfits and take a few pictures for Nancy and Bailey?" Caroline asked as she tried to look in the back for the shopping bags.

"It depends if the traffic wants to move within the next five minutes." Mama said as she looked for a possible way out. "Now is when we need a motorcycle or a helicopter to get through this traffic."

"A helicopter?" I asked. I wonder if you can see the whole city from a helicopter? Then again, I also want to ride a motorcycle someday.

"Aha!" Mama said and the traffic started to move. "It's a miracle!"

"Yeah!" I said and we continued on towards the hotel. Caroline looked bummed about not staying at the mall or going shopping. Oh well, at least we got through traffic while it wasn't bad. "Do you think we'll make it back in time?"

"Yeah, we'll have plenty of time to get ready." Mama said. "Do you have a song picked out for later at the restaurant, Sophie?"

"Yeah. Do you think I'll win?" I asked and Caroline shrugged.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. You'll still feel good for trying." Mama said and we parked in front of the hotel. "Let's go and maybe you'll have enough time to show your father waht you got." We got out of the car and went inside to show Daddy our stuff. He was already dressed in his tux and looked nice. Caroline tried on her clothes and Daddy whistled and clapped for her. I tried on my shirt and he did the same for me.

"I'll be clapping louder when you perform at the restaurant." Daddy said as I finished giving a little spin. "Do you know what you'll be singing?"

"Yes and I think you guys will like it." I said and went out of the room to change. I got my fancy dress on and decided to watch some TV to pass the time. I couldn't find anyhting good and put it on MTV. "Oh, hey Caroline! It's our song!" I shouted and turned the TV up. We would always sing and dance to this song whenever we heard it. We even sang it in front of Mama and Daddy all dressed up once. They got it on video and always watch it just to make us all laugh.

"Ok." Caroline said without a care as she read her magazine.

"C'mon!" I said and pulled on her arm.

"No, Sophie. I don't dance to that anymore." Caroline said as she yanked her arm away from me. "And I don't sing to it anymore, either."

"Why not?" I asked with a heartbroken look.

"Because I'm getting too old to do that and act immature." Caroline said as she marked something in her magazine. "I already matured and you need to as well." I felt my heart hurt at that. We're supposed to be immature; we're kids. I've even heard of kids her age that act like 6 year olds and no one really has a problem with it.

"But Caroline, we're kids and supposed to be silly." I said. "Why're you afraid to?"

"I'm not afraid, I just don't want to have a bad reputation when I get to middle school." Caroline said as she tried to ignore me each time I peeked around the magazine. "If I don't have a good reputation, I'll be teased about being a little kid and I won't have any friends."

"But what about me? Am I not important to you?" I asked with hurt written all over my face.

"Yeah, but...my friends are important." Caroline said and then realized what she just said. "I mean, I didn't mean to say that! It's just...complicated." Caroline wiped that look off her face and started reading her magazine again, trying to ignore me. I finally gave up on her and turned back to the TV.

"Ok," was all I could say and I noticed our song was over and another one was playing. What Caroline said hurt. She cared more about her reputation and friends than she did her family and sister. We've known her longer than her friends have and she loved us first. Plus her friends weren't even here, so left embarrassment out of the picture. I watched some more music videos on MTV before we got ready to leave. I was ready to see Ethan. At least he'll hang out with me and not be embarrassed.

"Let's go, Sophie." Mama said. She had on a beautiful black dress and had her hair up in a bun.

"Wow, you look so ppretty, Mama." I said and held her hand as Daddy closed the door behind us. We were gonna walk to the restaurant this time and traffic wasn't bad. My legs were burning a little by the time we got there, but it was worth it. We went inside and saw Ethan and his parents sitting by the stage. The stage wasn't real big, but it was spacey.

There were alot of tables and there was a door that led to the deck outside. A DJ was sitting on the other side of the stage working and putting on a few rap songs. There was what looked like a small dance floor up close to the stage and it had a changing tile floor. It lit up with colors and graphics that looked awesome. The lights were on, but no one was on the stage singing. There were a few people dancing on the floor and there were only a few groups of people in here right now. I wonder if this place will fill up later at night and other people also sing. I went over to the table and Ethan gave me a bone-crushing hug.

"ACK! Ethan!" I said as he picked me up off the floor in the hug. He put me back down and I got my lungs full of air. "You goofball! I don't wanna be squeezed in half!"

"I'm just glad to see you." Ethan said as we sat down.

"Hello, Sophie." Mrs. Decker said and I waved at his parents.

"Hi. It's nice to see you again." I said.

"It"s nice to see you, too. Your mom says that you are going to sing a song up there." Mr. Decker said as he motioned to the stage. "Are you going to win with the song you pick?"

"I hope so." I said. "Even if I don't win, I still want to show some people in New York what I'm made of!"

"That's the spirit, Sophie!" Mrs. Decker said and the waiter came over to get our drink orders. Ethan and I got the same thing and it was Dr. Pepper. I guess we both like Dr. Pepper because we mainly get it whenever there's no Coca-Cola in the restaurant.

"Hey, look here." Ethan said as I just got my drink and straw. I looked in time to see him point his straw at me and blow into an open end to send the white paper cover to my face. The paper hit me on the nose and Ethan laughed as the paper got stuck in my hair. I smirked at him playfully and wadded ther paper into a tiny ball before throwing it at him. Ethan retaliated by wadding up his napkin and throwing it at me.

"Kids, be a little more professional." Mama said and we stopped, but still threw one last paper wad at each other. The waiter ordered our food and we engaged in small talk.

Daddy took me over to the DJ so he can put me on a sign-up sheet for the karaoke contest. After I got my name on the sheet, we headed back to the table and I got Ethan a penny from off the floor.

"Here, one for good luck." I said and handed it to him.

"Thanks, but you keep it so you'll have a chance of winning the contest." Ethan said and pushed the hand with the penny back to me. "You need it more than me."

"Thanks." I said and hugged him before sitting back down.

"So, do you plan on going into music when you get older?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah. I'm also gonna try to go into theatre while I'm at it." I answered.

"So, musical theatre? Like Broadway?" Ethan asked and I nodded. "Cool! Broadway is about a mile away from here or so. I think it may be somewhere by the mall."

"Wow. I've never been to Broadway, but I've always wanted to perform on there." I said. "I've been in a few plays before and it made me want to be an actress."

"Nice. I've been in only one play before and I've been trying to be a rapper and an actor." Ethan said. "That's one more thing we have in common."

"Cool!" I said and played with the straw in my drink. "How many times have you been here?"

"About three or five at the most." Ethan answered. "My parents usually invite their friends and their kids come along. Their kids never sing and you're the first one I know to actually do it."

"Really? I am?" I asked and Ethan nodded. "Wow. Have you sang or rapped on the stage here?"

"Only once and it was against a girl who couldn't sing even if her life depended on it." Ethan answered and I nodded. "Hopefully you can beat whoever else is singing tonight."

"Thanks." I said. "I think I saw about 4 names up there on the sign-up sheet. How come you're not singing tonight?"

"Because you're singing. I would kinda feel bad if I won and you didn't." Ethan answered.

"No. I probably would feel bad if I lost and you rub it in my face. But I just sing because I love to sing and I have fun doing it." I say and then thought of something. "Hey, do you think you can ask your mom if you can have a sleep over tonight?"

"Yeah!" Ethan said and looked at his mom. "Hey, Mom. Is it ok if I sleepover with Sophie tonight?"

"No, not tonight but maybe tomorrow night." Mrs. Decker said. "We have to get up early in the morning and go to Northern Hills for a while."

"Ok." Ethan said. "At least we get to have a sleepover."

"Yeah, it's not a total loss." I said and Caroline huffed. She was sitting beside of Ethan and was trying to ignore us from the look on her face. I guess she'll have to get over the fact that Ethan will stay over for one night. "There's no need to be mad, Caroline." Caroline looked at me.

"I'm not mad. I just haven't met anyone my age who wants to be friends with me." Caroline answeres.

"I'm only a year older than you." Ethan said to her.

"I don't really hang out with people who are already in middle school." Caroline said. "Not unless my friends hang out with people in middle school will I ever be friends with them."

"You're so vain." Ethan said and Caroline frowned at him. I didn't know what vain meant, but it must be bad if Caroline frowned.

"Whatever." Caroline said as she started to text her friends on Mama's phone. Then our food finally arrived and we ate.

"This place has good dipping sauce." I said and dunked a chicken strip into the sauce.

"I like the ranch dressing." Ethan said as he took a bite of chicken strip with ranch.

"Ew, ranch is disgusting!" I said and made a face.

"You're on crack." Ethan said and I raised my eyebrow in confusion. What did he mean by that?

"What does that mean?" I asked and Ethan laughed.

"I'll tell you later." he said and I shrugged and got back to eating. After we got done eating, it was 7:00 PM and it was time for the karaoke contest.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" The DJ announced and the lights went all colorful. "It's time for our karaoke contest of the night! The rules are simple. We hand out slips after each person of people have performed and you vote for the best. We tally up everyone's votes after 10 minutes and the winner shall get their meal free and a free dessert of their choice. So first up is Sydney Packer!"

A girl walked up on the stage and took the microphone. She started singing and she wasn't that bad. I had listened to the other people who were on the list sing and even dance a little. Two guys sang together and one of them rapped a part of the song.

"They did that a little wrong." Ethan said. "Especially on a rap song."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because the rap part of the song requires a deep voiced guy. A guy who does bass." Ethan explained. The rest of the song was ok with that guy. But with the tempo and the beat, it just sounds wrong."

"I can see what you mean." I say as they exit the stage. "There's a few people I remember not doing so well because they didn't follow the tempo of the beat."

"Now she may be young, but she has the voice and the guts, Sophie McFadden!" The DJ announced and I got up as everyone cheered. I walked to the stage and stood on the stage at the micrrphone. Some people were looking at me and they couldn't believe that I was up here. I took a deep breath as the music started.

**Big Girls Don't Cry**

**Da da da da**

**The smell of your skin lingers on me now**  
**You're probably on your flight back to your home town**  
**I need some shelter of my own protection, baby**  
**To be with myself and center clarity, peace, serenity**

**I hope you know, I hope you know**  
**That this has nothing to do with you**  
**It's personal, myself and I**  
**We've got some straightenin' out to do**  
**And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket**  
**But I've got to get a move on with my life**  
**It's time to be a big girl now**  
**And big girls don't cry**  
**Don't cry**  
**Don't cry**  
**Don't cry**

**The path that I'm walking I must go alone**  
**I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown, full grown**  
**Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they?**  
**And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay**

**I hope you know, I hope you know  
That this has nothing to do with you  
It's personal, myself and I  
We've got some straightenin' out to do  
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket  
But I've got to get a move on with my life  
It's time to be a big girl now  
And big girls don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry**

**Like the little school mate in the school yard  
We'll play jacks and uno cards  
I'll be your best friend and you'll be my Valentine  
Yes, you can hold my hand if you want to  
'Cause I want to hold yours too  
We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds**

**But it's time for me to go home**  
**It's getting late and dark outside**  
**I need to be with myself and center clarity, peace, serenity**

** hope you know, I hope you know  
That this has nothing to do with you  
It's personal, myself and I  
We've got some straightenin' out to do  
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket  
But I've got to get a move on with my life  
It's time to be a big girl now  
And big girls don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry. La da da da da da...**

Everyone was cheering by the time I got done singing. I can't believe I done so good! I even seen some people with their phones out recording me to show to their friends. People in New York will soon recognize me. I got down and walked back to my seat.

"You were amazing, Sophie!" Mama said and hugged me.

"Thanks, Mama!" I said and went to Daddy.

"That was great, Sophie! You sounded like a real lady up there." Daddy said.

"You have a real talent, Sophie." Mrs. Decker said.

"You have a pretty voice." said Mr. Decker.

"Thank you." I said and shook their hands. Ethan gave me a smile as I sat down and Caroline went back to texting.

"You did great!" Ethan said and I smiled.

"Thanks." I said. "I was the last person who performed. Who do you think will win?"

"I dunno." Ethan said and got a slip of paper that the waiter dropped off at our table. "But I know we're all picking you." I waited patiently as everyone talked and put their votes in a basket that was soon taken up to the DJ. The DJ and a guy who was dressed up were counting the votes and putting them up in different piles. After ten minutes, the DJ started talking.

"The votes are in and we have our winner. The person who gets their meal free and a free dessert is...Sophie McFadden!" The DJ said and I nearly dropped out of my seat. I won!? I won! I smiled as everyone cheered and the guy in the suit went over to talk to Mama and Daddy. Another waiter brought me the chocolate cake and Ethan surpised me by giving me a hug from behind.

"I knew you could do it!" he said and I laughed. "And I want a bite of that cake."

"Sure." I said and used my fork to cut the cake in half. "Thanks for believing in me. I think I had a shot of pure luck."

"I think it's because you have a real talent." Ethan said and I smiled.

"Do you really think so?" I asked and he nodded.

"I know so." Ethan said and started eating his slice of cake. I got compliments from people who were coming by to leave and even a waitress complimented me. I got done with the cake and we had to leave. I couldn't wait for the sleepover tomorrow night!

"I can't wait for tomorrow night! Can you?" I asked Ethan as we all exited the restaurant.

"Nope. I'll bring over a few movies I'm sure you'll like and you can fix some popcorn." Ethan said. "I can bring the soda and we can pig out on it all and get all sugar crazy!"

"Now you're talking my style!" I said and noticed Mama looking at me.

"Say goodbye, Sophie. You two can talk later tomorrow." Mama said and I nodded.

"Yes, Mama." I said and we both hugged each other. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye." Ethan said and we all headed our seperate directions. I just can't wait for tomorrow!

**And the second chapter is complete! Sorry it took so long to update, I have other shit going on in my life to handle. I'll try to post again soon! The next chapter will have a sleepover in it and you get to see how sugar high crzy Sophie and Ethan get. Until next time!**

**Please read and review and no flames please! :)**


	3. Friendly Sleepover

**Now is what everyone had been waiting for: the next chapter to this story! Time for Sophie and Ethan's sleepover! Since Sophie is 10 years old, Ethan will be teaching her things about having a life when it comes to friends. He will help her learn about what to do to make friends and teach her what the kids are doing now.**

**Ethan is really trying to be like a big brother to help protect Sophie from being the one awkward kid in the class or the girl who doesn't know about swear words or how to use them. He's going to teach her the basics and it can help her for when she goes back home. I won't let anything get too graphic or whatever, so it won't be rated M for this chapter. Now that you get that, onto the story!**

**I own: my OCs**

**Nickelodeon owns: this version of TMNT**

**Sophie POV**

"Mama, is anyone at the door?" I asked as I got off the couch.

"No, sweetie. They'll be here, just be patient." Mama said and she went back to washing the clothes. I groaned and flopped back against the couch. The whole day was boring.

We ate breakfast in the lobby and stayed in the hotel room the rest of the time. I watched TV for a while until Caroline took it over and I got a book to read. I finished the book in no time and ate lunch in the lobby again. I tried to get Caroline to play a few games with me, but she said no because she wasn't into those games anymore.

"Why don't we watch a little TV?" Daddy asked as he sat down with me and cut the TV back on.

"Ok." I said and Daddy flipped through the channels until we found the Aristocats.

"Hey, we all like this movie. We can watch it until Ethan gets here." Daddy said.

"Ok, I love this movie!" I say and perk up.

I noticed a few things about the movie that seemed to relate to my life.

The little white cat sounded a bit like Caroline, trying to grow up fast and be a grown up when she's still a kid. The only difference about the cat and Caroline is that Caroline shut herself off from the rest of the family. We were so close and now we're like awkward people. I hated what she's become.

The movie ended before I knew it and it was almost time for dinner in the lobby. There was a knock at the door and I almost jumped to the roof in excitement.

"Ethan's here!" I yelled and ran to the door. Daddy followed behind me and looked through the peephole where I couldn't see. He opened the door and Ethan stood there with his stuff and his mom was standing there beside of him.

"Hi!" I greeted Ethan and hugged him. Daddy invited them inside and Ethan sat his stuff down on the couch. Caroline was on the other end of the room reading her magazines. She gave us a glance and rolled her eyes. Ignoring her, I looked at Ethan and he shrugged.

"Girls like her will do that." Ethan said and pulled out his phone. "I haven't had dinner yet. Are we going anywhere to eat?"

"We go down to the lobby and eat there. We managed to get our first 3 days to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner free." I explained and he shook his head yes.

"Ok. But would I cost anything? I'm not part of your stay." Ethan asked.

"I dunno. Maybe Daddy can ask the nice lady at the desk if he can get you dinner for free with us." I said.

"Ok." Ethan said.

"Ethan, you be good." his mom said as she hugged him and walked to the door.

"I will, Mom." Ethan said and she walked out the door with a wave.

"Caroline, get ready to go to the lobby." Mama said as she got her shoes. "Ethan, Sophie, that goes for you, too."

"Yes, ma'am." We both said and I got ready to go.

After we were all ready, we headed out the door and down to the lobby. The lobby was huge and the tables were all set out for dinner. We got in line where dinner was being served.

"We don't have to pay for your food, Ethan." Daddy said as he got back from talking to the nice lady standing at the desk.

"Thank you, sir." Ethan said and grabbed a plate.

I got a chicken pie, fries and a chocolate milkshake and sat down with Mama and Caroline at a table. Ethan and Daddy sat down after me and it didn't take long for a conversation between them two. I ate everything on my plate and waited for everyone else to finish eating their food. After they ate, we headed back to the room and started the party.

"So, whatcha wanna do now?" I asked Ethan as he opened up his bookbag.

"I have a few movies we can watch." Ethan said as he pulled out a CD case for movies. I ran over to the food cabinet and got a bag of popcorn and set it in the microwave. Ethan skipped ahead through the previews and I poured the popcorn into a bowl before sitting down beside of him.

bored at"What's this movie about?" I asked.

"It's King Kong. The older version sucks, so I got the new version." Ethan explained. "Trust me when I say that you'll like this movie. Have you ever seen it before?"

"Not this one. I've seen the older version, but the ape wasn't that realistic." I said and ate some popcorn. "Plus, the lady playing the main role had bad acting skills. She nearly fainted every time she seen the ape or gotten into danger."

"If you were in her place, would you act like she did or do your own thing?" Ethan asked.

"I would do my own thing. I probably would yell or be immobile at first, but I would eventually do my own thing and try to fight back against the native people." I said and watched the movie as it started to play.

I was a little bored at first at the beginning, but it started getting more interesting halfway through the movie. There was alot that was different in this movie than the older version and this one was way better by far.

"So, was it any good?" Ethan asked as the end credits came on as I shook my head yes and stretched my arms. The ending was sad and I nearly cried.

"Yeah. I hope that Carl guy gets arrested and I really wished that Kong would've lived." I said. "He was just trying to protect Ann from what those people were doing to her."

"I know, but he still didn't have to kill most of the people." Ethan said. "Don't call me corny, but I think that Kong is like Jack because he never gave up on Ann no matter what she went through."

"I don't think it's corny. I think what you said was awesome!" I said and Ethan smiled. "Why do you think that?"

"Because Jack noticed when Ann was missing from the ship and he went to go find her when the others stopped searching. Then he basically jumped off a cliff for her and still followed her up to the top of the Empire State building." Ethan explained and I listened in closely. "Then Kong doesn't kill her like he did these other women in his boneyard. Instead, he protects Ann when she's being chased by those dinosaurs and tries to rescue her from the others. He climbs to the top of the tower and dies still protecting her. Jack is soon up there and Ann realizes that he is Kong to her. Then I thought that it wasn't beauty that killed the beast, it was Ann who saw beauty within the beast."

Wow. I'm stunned. I let my mouth hang open and Ethan smirked.

"Wow...just wow." I said in awe and Ethan chuckled. "How did you manage to come up with that?"

"I did a report on it for school. I got an A+ on the assignment because the extra credit part was how you would view the theme of the movie differently and what does it mean to you." Ethan explained. "The teacher said I was great at this and recommended me for stuff like that. I may go for an English major when I go to college as a back-up plan if being a rap artist doesn't work out for me. What's your back-up plan?"

"Well, if I don't make it in music, then I'm going for journalism. I'm pretty good at reports and writing." I explained. "Caroline's been looking up tips for being a fashion magazine director with her friends and I've also helped them a little before. So I may just be a reporter for a newspaper or for a magazine of some sort. What other movies did you get?"

"How about the Goonies? I love that movie." Ethan said as he got out the DVD case.

"I love that movie, too!" I said as Ethan switched the DVDs. "I'll fix more popcorn. Don't start the movie without me!"

I walked back into the kitchen and put another bag of popcorn in the microwave. I rushed back and poured the popcorn into the empty bowl as Ethan pressed play.

I always loved this movie. I liked how Mikey and his friends went on an adventure for gold and saved their homes. Brand sounded like Caroline in a way and acted like a jerk to Mikey. I liked where they all went down the tunnels and were like pirates when fighting the bad guys.

I wanted to be like a pirate. Caroline and I would always play with me back then, but now she doesn't want anything to do with me.

"They're so awesome!" I said when the movie ended. "I always loved pretending to be pirates with Caroline."

"I wish we could do that, but we may accidentally wake up the neighbors next door." Ethan said and I sighed.

"What time is it?" I asked and Ethan checked his phone.

"10:12." he answered. I usually go to bed around midnight on the weekend watching movies or reading a book. After that, I go to bed and don't wake up until 10 in the morning. "Do you wanna watch another movie? I got about a few more."

"What are they?" I asked.

"I have Titanic, Ice Age and Jaws." Ethan said as he took them all out and laid them on the floor. "Take your pick."

"Ice Age! That movie is great!" I said and noticed the partially empty bowl of popcorn. "I'll get more popcorn. And don't-"

"I know, don't start the movie without you." Ethan said and I disappeared into the kitchen for another bag of popcorn. I stuffed the bag into the microwave and waited for the timer to go off. I got out the popcorn and walked back to Ethan. I poured the contents into the bowl and sat down as the movie started.

Ice Age was a funny movie and I liked Sid because he's hilarious! Diego was also awesome because he's a sabertooth tiger. The baby was adorable and Manny made him look so small beside of him. My favorite part in the movie is when they took the shortcut in the ice and they see all of the things trapped in the ice. I laughed at the next part when the baby slid down in the tunnels and the animals followed him. It was funnier when Diego cheered and wanted to do that again. I would totally go down the tunnels with them because it looks like fun!

"Global warming, ha!" Ethan laughed as the movie ended. "If only they knew."

"I would like to know where the spaceship came from that got stuck in the ice." I said. "And what looked like the 'evolution of Sid' part was funny. I wonder if that's how sloths were made?"

"I know, right? And I want to know about those aliens, though." Ethan said and checked his phone. "It's nearly midnight." I peeked over his shoulder to see if he was right and he was.

"Wow. I'm hardly tired, though." I said and looked at the empty popcorn bowl. "I'll take the popcorn bowl back." I grabbed the bowl and took it into the kitchen where I put it in the sink.

"What do you want to do now?" Ethan asked as I walked back into the living room.

"I dunno." I shrugged and sat down.

"Do you wanna see if your parents will take us out somewhere tomorrow after breakfast?" Ethan asked.

"Sure. Is a walk around this neighborhhood too far of a walk or maybe to the zoo?" I asked. I've been wanting to go to the zoo for a while now since we arrived, but I didn't know if we would have enough time.

"They're both not too far away from here. I wanna go to the zoo first and maybe we can go see a Broadway show." Ethan said and my eyes widened.

"Forget my dumb idea, let's see a Broadway show!" I said and nearly jumped up in excitement.

"I think they're playing the Lion King or the Little Mermaid this time." Ethan said. "I'm fine with either one. But we can go to the zoo first and then to Broadway."

"That sounds like a good idea." I said.

"Hell yeah!" Ethan said and slapped a hand over his mouth. "Whoops."

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." Ethan said. "I just said something I wasn't allowed to say in front of other people."

"Oh. What was it?" I asked and noticed how Ethan seemed to squirm. "You can tell me. It can't be that bad."

"You haven't really learned of cussing, have you?" Ethan asked and I wondered about it. I think I remember someone say something about cussing before.

"I think so." I said.

"Let me help you understand this before you go through the awkward teen changes and crap like that." Ethan said and got his laptop out. "You're almost to the stage where kids go through a change. I'm kinda halfway through that and only stay nice to people I barely know. If I'm with my two friends or just by myself, it's a different story."

"How so?" I asked and scooted closer where Ethan got up YouTube on the laptop.

"Well, first we start listening to different music. Some grown ups don't like it because they don't understand the music. But we just listen to the lyrics and drown out the rest." Ethan said and put his earphones in. He gave one to me as he played the song he found. "Just listen and you'll see what I mean. It's hard to drown out the music, but try and listen to the lyrics."

I listened past the instruments and stuff to listen to the lyrics. Ethan was right. The song playing right now was beautiful and I don't see why grown ups wouldn't like it. The music nearly made my ears bleed, but the lyrics weren't bad at all.

"You're right. But what else is there to cussing?" I asked, still a little confused.

"This part of the song has a few cuss words in it." Ethan pointed out and I listened. I heard a ew people say things like that and heard Daddy say stuff like that a few times before. What's so bad about them?

"What's so bad about these words?" I asked and Ethan cut off the song and went to Google.

"It's bad to cuss sometimes and they mean different words. 'Fuck' means 'bad' in a way and it means for someone to go and leave them alone." Ethan said and typed the word. There were a few definitions for it and he showed me every different way of saying cuss words and what they meant.

"Cussing on Sundays is bad and causes bad luck for some people. So I learn to bite my tongue and say something like 'Holy Mackenzie!' on Sundays." Ethan said and my ears perked.

"Sorta like on the Goonies?" I asked. They used that saying alot and some cuss words in the movie now that I remember.

"Yeah. And another way of using cuss words is when someone is bugging you non-stop and you say 'piss off' or 'go away, limp dick." Ethan said and it got me to wondering.

"Hey, didn't you say that 'dick' basically meant your wiener?" I asked and Ethan snorted from laughter. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just funny listening to you say that." Ethan chuckled. "And you're also right about that. The teachers at your school haven't told you older kids about puberty, have they?"

"Nope. Caroline did, but not me." I said.

"Ok. The boys just get sweaty more often and grow hair, but the girls go through something different." Ethan said and got up YouTube again. "There's videos that can explain alot better than me."

I remember asking Mama where babies came from one day about a year ago and she didn't really answer me. She told me that they came from the love that other mothers and fathers have. Well, now I know and I know why she decided to wait for me to hear it in school. It's disgusting and not many kids in my grade were told.

"Man, I never knew that growing up meant going through all of that." I said after Ethan showed me the last video. "Why did you decide to tell me now and not make me wait to learn in school?"

"Because I was one of those kids who was told at the last second and got made fun of because he didn't know what puberty or cuss words were about." Ethan said and I patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"It's ok. Now I know and learned when and where to use cuss words right." Ethan said. "I really didn't want to see you suffer the same fate and I could already tell that Caroline wasn't going to tell you."

"I know. She thinks she's gotta worry about her friends more than her parents and her own sister." I said with sorrow and Ethan hugged me.

"Don't worry. I got your back." Ethan said and I hugged him back.

"Thanks. I guess she's vain." I said.

"I just used 'vain' because I couldn't say that she's a straight up bitch." Ethan said and I snorted.

"You got that right. I just wonder why she stopped playing with me and stopped hanging out with us." I said and slumped. "I really miss how close we once were. I remember when she and I were playing Jenga and we made a nice fortress for her mini dolls. It was fun."

I smiled at the memory of us using every Jenga block we had to build a large fortress for the dolls we had. Mama took a picture as Daddy stood with us holding a Ken doll while Caroline and I held our Barbie dolls. Daddy had sneezed and he bumped against the table, knocking over our fortress. We were a little sad, but we still had the picture of us and the fortress.

"Don't worry about her. You can count on me as your older brother." Ethan said and snapped me back into reality.

"Thanks, Ethan. You're the best older brother I could ask for." I said and we hugged one more time. "I'm sleepy. Everyone else went to bed, right?"

"Yeah, they were gone by 11." Ethan said amd we both got in our sleeping bags. I packed mine in case we went camping somewhere in the park. We were technically camping in the living room.

"What time is it now?" I asked.

"About 1 in the morning." Ethan answered and my eyes widened.

"Wow. I usually go to bed around 12 on the weekends, but I guess I beat that record." I said and yawned. I guess talking made me tired.

"Ok, let's go to bed." Ethan said as he turned off his laptop and got out another movie. "We can fall alseep to this one unless you decide to keep your eyes on the screen the whole time."

"No, I may fall asleep by the time the 5 minute mark passes." I said and got comfortable in my own sleeping bag.

"So, you and I will tell your parents in the morning about going to the zoo and to the Broadway show?" Ethan asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, and get to bed so you won't pass out during the Broadway show, crackhead." I said and he laughed. Ethan also told me what drugs were and to never ever do them as long as I live. I felt my eyes starting to droop.

"Goodnight, Sophie." Ethan said as the movie started to play.

"'Night, Ethan. Thanks for the talk and stuff." I said and closed my eyes.

I knew I wasn't gonna make it through the first 5 minutes of the movie and I felt myself drift off to the land of dreams.

**So, whatcha think? Is it bad, good, somewhat good? I decided to make them non-sugar crazy and let them have a serious talk.**

**I was like Ethan during middle school. I was the one girl in my grade who still didn't know about puberty or cuss words until it was too late. Many classmates teased me about it and when i finally got to puberty, they still made fun of me. One guy went as far as taking a pad out of my pocket and throwing it to the front of the room. Well, now that's over and they hardly bother me anymore.**

**I haven't been posting as much even though I had some good times to write. The reason why is because I had a boyfriend of 8 months and he broke up with me the Saturday after Valentines day. I'm over him now, but I was in great pain for a few weeks. Now I'm done with him and moving on.**

**Anyway, I hope you loved this chapter! Please read and review and no flames please! :)**


	4. Fun Time

**Hey, I'm not dead! I was just gone for a long period of time and finally got around to updating again. Well, the only thing I have to blame is school and other things. I can't believe how much crap I have to do this year! I really should have started writing stories sooner on this site. I would have finished everything by now if I did.**

**Anyway, Sophie won't be seeing the turtles just yet and I'm sorry to the people who want to see then all meet. Just give it a few more chapters and then they meet at last!**

**You guys don't wanna listen to me drabble on about this, so onto the story!**

**I own: my OCs**

**Nickelodeon owns: This version of TMNT**

**Sophie POV**

I woke up to someone calling my name and shaking my shoulder.

"Sophie, wake up!" the voice called.

"Ugh...go away, Caroline." I said sleepily and burrowed farther into my sleeping bag.

I really don't want to be her maid right now while I'm trying to sleep. And then I realized that I'm the one shooing her away this time.

"Um, I'm not Caroline." the voice said and I opened my eyes in suprise. "Open your eyes and wake up!"

I got my head out from my sleeping bag and peeked out at the person. My eyes finally focused and it was Ethan who was talking to me. Oh yeah, we had a sleepover last night. I completely forgot that he was still here.

"Oh. Sorry, Ethan." I yanwed and stretched. "I guess I'm a little bit sleepy. What time is it?"

"Almost 11 in the morning." Ethan answered while checking his phone.

"Whoa, really!?" I exclaimed and peeked over his shoulder. He was right and that was about as late as I ever slept in my life. "Wow. I never really sleep in this late unless I'm on summer vacation for school."

"I usually don't wake up on the weekends until noon sometimes. Your mom is making breakfast because you guys already used up your free meal plan yesterday." Ethan said. "We can ask them at the table about going to the zoo and to Broadway. I waited until you got up to tell them."

"I'm sure they'll at least say yes to the Broadway show." I said and started getting up my sleeping bag. "I just hope we have enough time for going to the zoo."

"I'm sure we will, Soph." Ethan said and I gave him a confused look.

"You gave me a new nickname?" I asked and he nodded.

"Hell yeah. And it suits you, too." Ethan said and I smirked.

"Oh then, Decker, I'll have to work on one for you." I said and put my sleeping bag into my suitcase. "Maybe I can call you by your middle name. What is it?"

"Well, I really don't like my middle name and I'll tell you if only you tell me yours." Ethan said and I nodded.

"My middle name is Renae, spelled R-E-N-A-E." I said. "Now spill, curly top. What's your middle name?"

"It's...Laine." Ethan admitted and I let my mouth drop open. I laughed out loud once I got over the small shock. Ethan covered his face as I kept laughing. "It's not funny! Your middle name is spelt weird!"

"Yeah, but my middle name is supposed to sound like a girls' name." I said after my laughing went down to a few giggles and smirked.

"I can't help it that my parents picked out the worst name in history." Ethan said as he ran a hand through his curls. "I'm just glad it's my middle name and not my first name."

"Caroline's middle name is Mae, spelled M-A-E." I say and laugh softly. "I guess Mama and Daddy wanted our middle names to rhyme and be unique."

"Caroline Mae McFadden and Sophie Renae McFadden. They have a nice ring to them." Ethan said and I smiled.

"Thanks." I say.

"No prob. If you wanted a different name entirely, what would it be?" Ethan asked and I began to think. "I've always wanted to be named Tobias Xander."

"Cool! I like that name. It's really unique." I say and Ethan smiled.

"Thanks. I really like Xander the most." Ethan said and I nodded my head in agreement. "What's yours?"

"I like Marisabella Renée, spelled R-E-N-É-E, Hyde." I said and Ethan smirked.

"I like the last name and I never heard of the first name before. Why Marisabella?" Ethan asked.

"I always liked the names Marie and Isabella, so I combined them into one and came up with Marisabella." I explained and Ethan nodded.

"That's cool. They should have that name recorded. I think Xander was one of the recorded names." Ethan said.

"You've read that book Peter Pan, right?" I asked him and he nodded. "Well, there was never a Wendy recorded before the book published. After eveyone read the book, everyone started naming their daughters Wendy."

"Well, that's a new one. I can't really remember about Xander or Tobias. But they sound so badass together!" Ethans said low enough so no one else could hear that. "But I can't think of a middle name. What do you think?"

"You can use Laine. I know it sounds lame, but you could give it a shot." I say.

"I guess that could work." Ethan said. "Tobias Xander Liane and Marisabella Renée Hyde. Quite the dynamic duo, don't you think?"

"Hell yeah! We need to call each other that in secret. Like code names for secret agents or for a different identity." I said and thought of a good idea. "Hey, we need to come up with some secret codes just for us! We can make it untrackable by police or Nazis."

"Nazis, you're funny!" Ethan laughed and then nodded. "We can do that. What do you think we should use? Whistles, lights, taps?"

"We need to think of something creative. If we're too far away for us to see or touch each other, then we need to hear something familiar." I said and started to think real hard. "We're also in New York and it has to be loud and noticeable. Something like a whistle is great, but there's alot of people who whistle.

"How about a few more noises at a time? Like this." Ethan said and he whistled, howled like a dog and made an owl sound.

"That sounded great! But what would that code mean?" I asked.

"How about...'I can't see you!'" Ethan said. "We're gonna have to work on this alot."

So, me and Ethan started working on our secret codes. We worked on sight, sound, touch and made sure that our sounds matched whatever emotion we felt at the time. For sight, we used light signals with shiny objects and hand motions to tell each other what we needed or what to do. Altogether, we came up with about 50 different signals and codes that do with our senses and even used our fake names if we ever get in trouble or separated.

We were testing them out when Mama called us all for breakfast.

"You got them all written down with our names and stuff, right?" I asked Ethan as he written down our codes and names in a small notebook so we could practice them later on. I went to the kitchen with Ethan once he finished writing.

"What are you two up to in there?" Mama asked as she set some plates down on the table.

"It's a secret!" I say excitedly as Caroline and Daddy walked in.

We all sat down and started to eat and talk. I waited for the right time to ask them about going to the zoo and to see a Broadway show.

"Mama, Daddy, is it ok if we go to the zoo and see a Broadway show today?" I asked. They both gave each other a look and then looked back to me.

"They sound like good ideas. But it depends on if we have enough money or not." Daddy said and I almost deflated from disappointment.

"Why not stop by a bank or something along the way? Isn't that what you always do whenever we don't have enough money?" I asked, hope coming back to me.

"I would if I could, Sophie. But our bank is back in Texas and they don't have our bank here in New York." Daddy said.

"You could open a bank account here in New York. My dad can get it to where you can have a trust fund or something like that in a few banks around here." Ethan said. "He's a banker and it's part of a new program that they're doing. I can ask him for you."

"That would be great! But let's do that after we both get done eating." Daddy said with a smile and i was doing flips on the inside. We may actually go to the zoo and to Broadway!

I barely savored my food and swallowed it all down fast. I waited patiently for Ethan to finish eating and followed him once he got done eating into the living room. I paced the floor as Ethan called his dad and gave Daddy his phone. We both waited for him to get off the phone and practiced our secret codes. We were practicing our secret code for 'I'm lost, help me!' when Daddy started luaghing and getting excited on the phone. I gave him a confused look and Ethan smirked.

"Yes! My bank account can be stretched from any other bank in New York!" Daddy called to the rest of us and walked away again with a skip in his step.

"I guess he's happy." I say and Ethan smiled.

"it looks like we get to go to the zoo and Broadway!" Ethan said and hugged me.

Pretty soon, Daddy got off the phone and said that we needed to go to the local bank a few blocks away to get his account transfered if we ever wanted to go to the zoo and Broadway.

"Yeah, let's go!" I say and run into the other room to get my clothes.

I got a short sleeved T-shirt, some shorts and my Converse shoes. I don't know if I ever said it, but those shoes are my favorite and they're very comfortable. Much more better and comfortable than Caroline's heels.

"Ethan, do you have any clothes to wear?" Mama asked as I made my way across the room to the bathroom to change.

"Yes, ma'am. I packed some just in case we were to go anywhere today." I heard Ethan say as I went into the bathroom and closed the door.

I quickly changed so Caroline could dress herself and waited impatiently at the door for the others. Daddy was also waiting at the door with me as he was doing something about his bank account on his phone.

"Let's go!" Daddy said as we all got ready. He pulled the door shut and we all piled into the car once we got in the parking lot.

"You're really excited about this bank stuff, huh, Daddy?" I asked as we made our way up the road in the car.

"Yes! If I get an approval from this bank in New York, then they will gve me a certificate that will be able to let me open my account in different banks across the world!" Daddy said and Mama cheered.

"That's great, honey! Ethan's father told you this?" she asked.

"Yes and I'm one of the first few people to try it out since it was new to their company. If anything happens while we're still trying this out, then they will pay us back any money we lost and include free items." Daddy explained. "Once we get to the bank and I get done signing up and getting everything logged in, then we can get money to go places and buy stuff."

"So, we can go shopping anywhere here if you get in?" Caroline asked the second she heard 'shopping'.

"In a matter of speaking, yes, but remember, we can't spend it all in one place." Daddy said as he pulled into the parking lot of a building. "Does anyone want to come with me?"

"I will." Mama said as she unbuckled. "They usually ask for the wife's signature as well."

"Anyone else?" Daddy asked and I shook my head. They can go talk boring stuff that I can't understand without me.

"No thank you. But tell my dad I said 'hi' if you see him." Ethan said and Daddy gave him a thumbs up.

"Why do we have to go to the zoo instead of the mall?" Caroline asked as she looked at her nails. "We have plenty of time to go to a zoo at home over the rest of the summer."

"Yeah, and we always have time to go to the mall back at home over the summer." I said and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." she said and then looked at her magazine.

"A vain bitch, as always." Ethan whispered as he leaned into my hearing. I giggled and Caroline looked like she didn't hear anything other than my laugh. She rolled her eyes and went back to reading.

"A vain bitch indeed." I whispered and Ethan chuckled. Caroline probably didn't hear us, but she didn't even look up at us this time.

It wasn't long before Mama and Daddy came back all happy about their bank stuff. Daddy had enough money and we could all go to the zoo first since the Broadway show happened later on in the evening. We could have enough time to go get dinner out before watching the Broadway show.

"So, should we look around the whole zoo and see all of the animals first before going to the gift shop?" Mama asked.

"That depends on if the gift shop has any cute animal clothes or jewelry." Caroline said as she looked at her magazine.

"I wanna see the animals first!" I say, excitedly. "I wanna see the foxes! They're my favorite animals. What about you, Ethan?"

"My favorite animal is the falcon. I just love tham and I also like to fly." Ethan said and I softly giggled. "Well, other than a plane, you know? Just like I had wings so I could be free."

"I believe I can fly! I believe I can touch the sky!" I sang and held my arms out, one nearly hitting Ethan in the face.

"Hey, watch where you're flying!" Ethan laughed and batted my arm away. "You'll knock me out of the sky!"

"No way! It's free air!" I say and stick my tongue out at him.

Caroline scoffed and rolled her eyes at us as she went back to reading her magazine again. It didn't take us long to get to the zoo parking lot and we had to wair for a little bit in a small line to get inside.

"I can hardly wait! I've never been in here before!" I say to Ethan and bounce up and down. "You've been in here before. What's it like in there? Do they have our favorite animals in there?"

"I went last year, but I have no idea if they changed anything around or not." Ethan answered.

"Oh. But I'm still excited!" I say and start bouncing again.

Finally, we made it to the front and a nice man checked us in and gave us all a bracelet to wear to show that we paid to get in here.

"Ok, so they have a map of the zoo. We should start here and get around to the food center by lunch time. Then we finish at around 4-ish to go get dinner before we go see the Broadway show." Daddy explained as he tried to show us all the map. "They're supposed to be showing The Little Mermaid tonight and everyone who likes it is going to be there. I better be glad I got to pre-order tickets before they sold out."

"Don't you mean _I_ pre-ordered the tickets for us?" Mama corrected Daddy and he nodded.

"Yes, dear. We better get started now so we'll get to the food center in time." Daddy said and we all moved forward.

The zoo was surprisingly packed with people and I had to make sure I didn't wander too far away from my family. I made sure to find Caroline's outfit, Daddy's funny suit and tie, Mama's long hair, and Ethan's jacket and curly hair.

We went towards the animals that you would mainly see around the countryside. I've never been to the woodlands before, so I don't know many animals living there. We seen bears, wolves, and a few smaller animals. As we walked down a path with others, I noticed a few signs and one in particular grabbed my attention.

"Foxes!" I gasped and pointed to the sign. It had a picture of a fox and the arrow on it pointed where the other people were going. "C'mon, they're this way!"

I grabbed Daddy and Mama's hands and tried to pull them forward.

"Ok, ok! Hold on!" Mama said as she straightened up and then made sure we were all around her before any of us got lost or left behind and moved forward. We passed by a statue of a bear and Ethan took a few pictures with it and Mama had me make a pose with him so she could take a picture.

"Caroline, come get in the picture!" Mama said as she finished taking one more of me and Ethan at the bear statue.

"No way, Mom. It's too embarrassing." Caroline said as she crossed her arms. "Can you give me the phone back, please? Nancy probably texted me back already and I have better things to do than pose for a picture."

"Not with that attitude, young lady." Mama said, using the voice she always used whenever one of us gets in trouble. Oooh, she's in for it now! Ethan snickered quietly and leaned into my ear range.

"Looks like the vain bitch gets what she deserves now." he whispered and I smirked at him. Caroline really did need to stop with trying to be something she's not.

"But mom-"

"No, Caroline. I've noticed how you've been acting lately and you at least need to spend more time with us the rest of this trip." Mama said. "It makes me embarrassed that my own daughter is trying to be stuck-up and a know-it-all. I don't want to ground you while on this trip, Caroline, but I will if I have to."

"Listen to your mother, Caroline Mae." Daddy said, using his stern voice and her middle name. Using middle names basically means that he means business. "I can also take away the privelege of giving you your own phone when you start middle school."

"But Dad, I-"

"No 'buts', Caroline. I'm serious. You can be part of our family now or say goodbye to your phone." Daddy said and Caroline hung her head, defeated.

"Yes, sir." Caroline said and then came over to us.

She had a glare in her stares and I stared blankly at her. What did I do? Surely she didn't hear us from over here unless she noticed that we were whispering about her. We all smiled for the camera and Mama took a few and then Caroline walked over to Mama for her phone.

"You tell your friends that you won't be able to talk until we get to the food center around lunch." Mama said and Caroline looked at her with disbelief. "Do it, Caroline."

"Yes, Mom." Caroline said and then did so.

"Let's go see the foxes now." Daddy said and my excitement made me forget about everything else already.

"Yay! Let's go!" I say and walk as fast as I could while trying not to get lost.

Then I seen the fox habitat ahead and I felt like running ahead to see them. A bunch of people were already crowding around the habitat and we were gonna have to wait a little bit more to see the foxes.

"Why are there so many people here?" I ask Ethan, groaning in defeat when I can't get through the crowd of people.

"Today must be a busy day, I guess." Ethan said and shrugged. "Most people don't stay long but to get a picture and leave. Just give these people a few minutes and they'll be gone."

Ethan was right when a few people moved on to see the next habitat and I was in front of the glass wall in seconds. There was a bunch of trees and I noticed how there was only few green trees and green stuff in there. I noticed some movement and I saw a fox leap up and jump on another one in a bush. They chased each other around for a bit and then disappeared by some trees.

"Wow. They're so beautiful!" I say and press my face against the glass wall.

"Sophie, look there!" Ethan said and I seen him point at something to my right.

There was a fox standing on the other side of me inside of the habitat and it was looking at me. I stared back at it and the fox didn't move an inch. I looked at it real closely and noticed that it had to be a female.

"That one is Lucky." Ethan said and pointed to the Fun Facts thing sitting by his other side. "She was named that because she was found after something bad attacked her and she made it through the surgeries she had. Plus, she has a unique spot on her tail that made me notice that it was her."

"Cool. Hey, Lucky." I said and wave at the fox.

I know that it was silly to wave when the animal couldn't wave back, but Lucky moved forward a little bit as if she were sniffing me through the glass. After a second, Lucky backed off and ran towards a small cave. I guess it was their bed cave.

"Ok, let me take a few more pictures and then we have to go on." Mama said and I groaned. I didn't want to go see any other animals but these. I complied anyway and smiled as Mama took the pictures.

"Hey, look behind you." Ethan said and I turned to see Lucky had come out of hiding.

She noticed me looking at her and she froze in a perfect pose. I struck a pose of my own for Mama to take one last picture and made sure that Lucky was in it. I smiled and Mama got the pictures. Lucky went away after I moved and then we started to go.

"Man, I don't wanna leave this part of the zoo." I said to Ethan as we walked to the next habitat. "I love foxes! I even had a dream that I was one living around in the forest."

"Now that sounds a little creepy." Ethan said and I playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Be quiet! I remember you saying that you wish that you could fly like a bird." I say and smirk. "I'm sure you had a similar dream about the falcon."

"Alright, alright. You got me there." Ethan said and then pointed to my left. "But don't say you wanna that you don't wanna take that home."

I looked to where he was pointing and gasped. There was a statue of a fox that was similar to the bear statue. It was beautiful!

"Wow! Mama, look at this!" I say and go by the statue. It was bigger than me by a long shot. "I really wish that we could take this home with us!"

"You can in a picture. Go stand in front of it." Mama said and I did.

I put a hand on the tail and then went over to the front and smiled for the camera. Mama took a few pictures of just me and Ethan joined in with me. Caroline got in 2 pictures and that was about it for her.

"Hey, hold on!" Ethan said and helped me up on the fox's tail. Having the same thought he did, I pulled myself up to where I was at the fox's neck and Ethan followed behind me. "Now we're riding the great beast!"

I laughed and smiled for the camera as Mama took a couple more pictures. Daddy smiled encouragely and Caroline rolled her eyes as she went back to picking the dirt out from underneath her nails.

"Let's go! We don't have much time before lunch." Daddy said as Ethan slid backwards and landed on his feet on the ground. Daddy came over to my left side and offered to help me down. I fell to the side into his arms. "I got you!"

"Yay! Carry me!" I say and giggle as I play dead in his arms.

"No, you're too heavy!" Daddy said and dropped to his knees, pretending that I was too heavy. "I can't lift this much weight!"

"Daddy!" I say and get up. "I barely weigh anything!"

"Ok, fine. Get on, sweetheart." Daddy said and bent down so I can get a piggy-back ride. I smiled and nearly jumped on him as he stood up and started to walk. He carried me for the next 2 habitats and then put me down.

"Alright, time for lunch." Mama said as she checked her phone and we headed towards the lunch area.

"Good. I'm starving." Ethan said as we got in line for the food bar.

I got a pizza and a drink and that was it. The food was pricey and I didn't want to spend all of our money before we got to Broadway, so I decided to eat lightly until dinner.

After everyone got done eating, we went on through the rest of the zoo. We came by Caroline's favorite animal, which is the white tiger. They were really beautiful and she also got a few pictures of one laying down by the glass wall beside of her. Caroline couldn't hide that smile of hers when she got to stare at one in the eyes. She left there happy and kept stealing Mama's phone so she could send the pictures to her friends.

We started to get to the birds and we saw four penguins in a habitat. They were adorable, but I swear I thought I saw one of them salute to another before disappearing under the food bowl as I walked away. **(Who do those 4 penguins sound like to you? Does anyone know?)**

"Ethan? Mama?" I ask as soon as I seen that they weren't around me anymore. I then realized that I let myself get lost. Shit. "Tobias?"

Then I hear a sound and recognized it to be one of our codes. I listened harder through the noise of the other people around me and heard the same code. It was the code for 'I can't see you, what do we do?' I answered back with 'Where are you?' and I got a few looks from the people around me, but I ignored them. Then I heard loud shouts and I thought I heard my name being called. The loud shouts basically meant 'over here!' and I followed the noise until I seen Mama.

"Oh, Sophie! I thought someone kidnapped you!" Mama said as she and Daddy hugged me. "Where did you go?"

"Nowhere, I think I just got lost in the crowd thinking I was following you." I say and then Ethan pats me on the shoulder.

"Try not to get lost again, ok?" Ethan said with a playful tone and I smile at him. We continue walking and Mama made sure to keep me in her sights in case I got lost again.

"Hey, look!" Ethan said and pointed to a large cage-thing. Inside were a few meduim-sized birds that had grey feathers. "Falcons!"

"Don't try to fly off with them now, Ethan. Or should I say, Tobias?" I smirked and he gave me a playful glare.

"Just as long as you don't run off stealing things with the foxes, Marisabella." Ethan shot back and I playfully punched him in the shoulder. "You started it, not me!"

"Only because it was funny." I say and let him marvel over his favorite animal. The falcons were pretty and I liked how smokey their feathers looked.

"Well, we may not have long until we have to leave. Who wants to go to the gift shop and look around?" Mama asked and I knew that anytime we're asked about going to the gift shop, our trip is over.

"I do!" I say. As much as I want to go back and see the foxes, I want to see the Broadway show before it was too late.

"Sophie, join me in the picture!" Ethan said as he stood by the cage and I seen Daddy holding his phone out to take a picture. I stood by Ethan and smiled for the camera as Daddy took a few pictures.

"Now you have a picture to fly with them." I say, teasingly. Ethan smiled and then we headed back towards the gift shop.

Being quick, I scanned the items in the store and got a small stuffed red fox with green eyes. It was so cool and the name tag even said Lucky! I got that and a piece of rock candy to serve me as a treat for my light lunch. Caroline got a larger stuffed white tiger with beautiful blue eyes that she wouldn't let go of. Ethan got a falcon necklace and a falcon T-shirt that was about a size too big for him. We all pitched in to find Mama and Daddy something. We got Mama a frog necklace and Daddy a lion T-shirt.

"Now, who wants to go to Broadway?" Daddy asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"We do!" Ethan and I say as Caroline takes pictures of her and her tiger on Mama's phone.

"We might as well eat here." Mama said as she pulled into a parking lot of a restaurant. "Broadway is about a block from here and we can walk over when we get done eating."

"Oh, I like this place." Ethan said. "We came here once while my dad was trying to get his CEO's of the bank to try the new program that your dad just signed up for. The CEO's said 'yes' and we all were invited to dinner here."

"I like the looks of this place. It's fancy-ish." I said as I looked around.

No one was in fancy dresses, so to speak, and the people just had on fancy-looking clothes. It wasn't much to get fussy about if you ask me.

"I wish I had brought a dress or something fancier." Caroline said to Mama.

"Everyone else here doesn't have a fancy dress on." Mama reassured her.

"But I don't look as fancy for this restaurant and everyone will be talking bad about me!" Caroline said, starting to freak out a little bit.

"We don't look that fancy, either. Calm down, Caroline." Daddy said and a waiter took us to a table.

I got another small meal that would do me off until I got back to the hotel room to munch on some snacks. I also got a chocolate cake that tasted heavenly for dessert as everyone else started to finish up eating their food. We watched a live entertainment show of 2 people sing for us all.

After we left, we walked a block away from the restaurant and I seen where Broadway was. There were so many people there and I wondered if we would get good seats. Then I noticed that the others were gone and I was on my own again. Crap.

"Tobias?" I called, but I thought I heard the signal for 'over here' or 'ahead'. I used the signal for 'I'm lost, help me!' and I seen Daddy's head. I walked back towards them and it looked like Mama and Daddy didn't even know I went missing. "I found you, Tobias."

"It hasn't even been 24 hours and you already wandered from us again, Marisabella." Ethan said and I blushed.

"Hey, it's large crowd and a large line ahead." I say in my defense and we start the waiting game.

After waiting a few minutes in line, we headed inside to find our seats. That theatre was HUGE! Even the stage and curtain was big.

"What do you think it'll be like?" I asked Ethan as we sat down in the center of the seats.

"It'll probably be just like the movie, just different singing and less cartoon-y." Ethan said and we talked a little more about the play until it started.

People really were talented in creating the set for this play and the people in it were great. When Prince Eric's ship sunk, they made it look like he was actually sinking under water. They could've done more on Ariel's tail, but the woman playing as her had an amazing voice. No one will ever sound like the orignal girl who voiceed Ariel in the movie, but that's just my opinion.

It wasn't long after that when the play ended and we all stood up to give a standing ovation. The play was amazing and I really wanted to be a part of the Broadway history when I grew up! We made it outside and I stretched from being cramped up so long in the seat.

"Man, that girl could hit a note." Ethan said as we get into the car and buckle up.

"I know. She was amazing. But no one can beat the girl who played Ariel in the movie." I say.

"You're right on that one." Ethan said as Daddy starts to drive.

"I had fun today, did you guys?" Mama said as we head back towards the hotel.

"Yes!" Ethan and I say and Caroline nodded. Just then, Ethan's phone rang and he answered it.

"Hello? Yes, this is him. Who are you?" Ethan said and I look at him.

Things changed right at that moment. I watched Ethan go from calm to eyes wide in horror. I never even had time to ask him what was wrong when he let out a ragged gasp and I watched as his phone dropped to the car floor.

**And finished! I left you guys with a cliffhanger, how evil of me! Anyway, I hope it won't be too long before I update again and you can find out what was said on the phone to make Ethan so scared.**

**Anyway, anybody like the codes? I know you don't know the sounds of them, but I will try to use them in the story more often with a little more detail. ****Sophie's been using some very bad language, hasn't she? Someone's been bad. Then again who hasn't met a little kid who cusses aometimes? I've seen my fair share.**

**PLEASE READ BELOW!**

**And everyone had to see that hint I gave you guys about the penguins. Four cute and cuddly penguins who live in a zoo and can salute and disappear under the fish bowl? I basically had the Penguins of Madagascar show up for barely a few lines in here. Speaking of which, I had a few plot bunnies about them and I'm thinking of doing a Penguins of Madagascar story after I finish Yoshi's Tale. ****You guys can help me vote YES or NO on the Penguins of Madagascar story.**

**If I haven't put it up on here yet, I had dated a guy a while back for about 8 months and he broke up with me about a week after Valentine's Day. I was in alot of pain and I didn't update alot when I had the chance. But now that I'm over him, I have alot more free time aside from school to work on my stories.**

**Anyway, please read and review and no flames, please! :)**


	5. Goodbye, New York

**I'm back with another chapter! I left you guys with a cliffhanger and that was so evil of me! Well, I can't help it, I'm always evil. ;)**

**Anyway, I don't have muh more news about what's been going on other than the usual stuff about school. So I'll let you all read and not listen to me drabble on.**

**I own: my OCs**

**Nickelodeon owns: this version of TMNT**

**Sophie POV**

"Ethan, what's wrong?" I asked.

"We have to get to the hospital! Now!" Ethan said as he picked up his phone. "We're on our way right now!"

"Ethan, what happened?" Daddy asked, his voice serious and full of worry.

"There was a bank robbery at my dad's bank. The robbers had guns and knives and one of them shot my dad." Ethan said, his voice full of pain. I can't believe what I'm hearing. Why did it have to be Ethan?

"Oh my god, is his ok?" Mama asked, an edge to her tone as she pulled over.

"I don't know. Mom got stabbed and we have to go to Elmer Hum's Memorial Hospital. That's where they are." Ethan said.

I really want to give Ethan a hug right now. Ethan had hurt and pain written all over his face.

"Ethan, they'll be ok. They just have to be." I say and put a hand over his. "We just gotta have hope."

"I hope you're right, Sophie." Ethan said.

Ethan sounded like he was gonna cry and break down, but he didn't break. I saw Caroline look at him with pity and she tried to ignore us, but her arms shook as she read her magazine. Ethan gave us a few directions to the hospital. After what felt like an enternity, we finally arrived at the hospital.

"Do we all go in?" Caroline asked.

"You all can if you want to." Ethan said and we all started to get out.

"Can I at least bring my magazines so I won't get bored?" Caroline asked.

I glared in her direction, but she wasn't paying attention. Ethan's parents are in the hospital and she acts like she doesn't care about them, even though they were nice to us.

"Fine, Caroline." Daddy said and we all walked inside.

"We're here to see Henry and Carsen Decker." Mama said to the man at the front desk.

"Please let me see them. They're my parents." Ethan begged. The man had a sorrow face and checked on his computer.

"Wait in the waiting room until the doctor comes to see you." the man said and Ethan nodded.

I could tell from the look on his face that Ethan was freaking out on the inside. I gave Ethan the hug I wanted to give him since he broke the news.

"It'll be alright, Ethan. They just have to be alright." I said and Ethan squeezed me. We stayed like that for a few moments before we sat down in the chairs.

Waiting in the hospital was the worst thing ever. I started to bite my nails, a bad habit I do whenever I get nervous. Mama and Daddy know that when I bite my nails, something was making me nervous. I tried to shake off the bad feeling and started to braid my hair. It wasn't but about 15 more minutes until the doctor came.

"People here seeing Henry and Carsen Decker." the doctor said and we all stood up.

"They're my parents. Are they ok?" Ethan asked and gripped my hand in a tight squeeze. I winced in pain, but I squeezed Ethan's hand for his support.

"Henry has 3 bullets lodged in his body. One is in his in his arm and the other two are in his shoulder." The doctor said. Ethan didn't stop squeezing my hand and it felt like my hand was dying. "He's in surgery right now because the two bullets in his shoulder hit a vital artery. We don't know if he will survive the night."

"What about Mom?" Ethan asked, his voice sounding like he was on the edge of tears.

"Your mother had been stabbed in the neck, cutting into her blood vein." The doctor said with a grim face. "I'm so sorry, but she didn't make it."

I had no words. My mind seemed to go blank. Ethan's hand let go of mine and he stepped back in shock.

"Ethan..." Daddy said and Ethan looked like he was about to be sick.

"Bathroom." Ethan muttered and he ran to the other side of the room to the bathroom.

"I'm going to see if he's alright." Daddy said and he started to walk over there.

I looked at Caroline, who's eyes were starting to water and her arms were shaking again. Caroline was trying to read her magazine and ignore us, but she coughed and wiped her eyes as her arms shook. Mama was wiping away her tears and tried to compose herself. I bet she's trying to look strong for us and Ethan.

"Ok...girls, we have to be strong for Ethan." Mama said as she breathed. I gave her a sad look and hugged her. "I know you guys are sad and I am too, but Ethan needs all of the help we can give him. And by doing that, we need to comfort him and give him strength and hope."

"Why do I have to do that?" Caroline asked. "We barely even know the dude and he's not even my friend."

"Because it's the right thing to do and why would you even say that, Caroline?" Mama said. "His mother just died and his father is in the ICU. What if you were in his situation and your father and I were dead?"

"I don't care if that happened. It's not like it'll ever happen." Caroline said and she walked into the girls bathroom.

"Oh, Caroline." Mama moaned and we both sat down in our seats.

Mama had her hands on her face and her breathing was shallow, like she was trying not to cry. I gave Mama a hug and she hugged me back.

"Don't listen to her, Mama. Caroline is just being a prissy, mean girl." I say and hug her tighter.

"I know she's being unreasonable right now, but there's no need for name calling." Mama said and wiped away her tears. "You two are sisters and have to be there for each other. If Caroline doesn't want to help with Ethan, then she doesn't have to. You need to be there for him."

"How am I supposed to stay strong for him when I can barely hold back my own tears?" I asked, trying not to cry.

"You can let them fall if you want to. Crying isn't a sign of weakness, it just means that you're human." Mama said. "And consoling Ethan while he cries makes him know that you still care for him. Everyone cries, some of us just don't show it as much as others."

"So now we can hope that Mr. Decker makes it through?" I asked and wiped my eyes.

"We'll pray all night if that's what it takes." Mama said and we both sat there in our seats for a few moments in silence.

Caroline came back from the restroom and looked at us. Caroline's eyes met mine for a moment and I could tell she had been crying. The redness in her eyes showed it all and her gaze was trying to figure out mine.

Caroline's gaze had so many questions in them. Were you guys talking about me? Did you both start crying? Are you mad at me? Do you hate me?

There was only one answer for Caroline's silent question.

Yes, I was still a little mad that Caroline said that about Ethan and didn't care if Mama and Daddy died. Who wouldn't get mad at that? I was also hurt. I know Caroline hurt Mama when she said that and it hurt me to know that Mama was hurt.

But most of all, I was disappointed in Caroline. I'm sure no person would really say that about their parents. Caroline was trying to be someone she's not and I knew it would come back and bite her in the ass one day.

I let Caroline see the sadness in my eyes and she looked away with a sorrow look. But she decided to be a bitch again because Caroline wiped that look off her face and sat down a seat away from me and Mama. Without taking another glance at us, Caroline opened her magazine and started reading.

I closed my eyes and then sighed. I'm slowly starting to lose my sister.

After a few minutes and silent tears, Ethan and Daddy came out of the bathroom. Ethan looked pale and his eyes were red and puffy from crying. He looked broken.

Wiping away my own tears and swallowing my sadness the best I could, I made sure to try to let my strength show and comfort filled my mind. I stood up and walkjed over to Ethan as Daddy went to sit with Mama.

"Ethan?" I asked and he looked at me. "Just letting you know that I'm here for you. I'm so sorry about your mother."

Ethan just pulled me into a bear hug and we both stayed like that for a while. I could feel a wet spot on my shoulder where Ethan started crying. It only made me hug him tighter. I didn't let anymore tears flow as we hugged. Ethan pulled back and I noticed how red his eyes were.

"I don't know how to thank you, Sophie." Ethan said as he wiped away his tears.

"For starters, we can sit down and cheer you up." I said and we sat down. "I'm hoping that I can convince Mama to let us stay for a little while. I know she wouldn't leave you here by yourself."

"Thanks, Sophie. But you guys don't have to waste your night here." Ethan said.

"No way. I would've begged Mama to let me stay with you." I said. "Like you said, we need to look after each other. And this is me keeping that promise."

"I have a feeling that you're really gonna stick to that promise." Ethan said and we both waited for the doctor to come back.

It was a little past 12 and I was sleepy as hell, but I stayed awake for Ethan's sake.

"Does anyone want a snack from the vending machines?" Daddy asked.

"I do." I said. My stomach was getting a little empty and my mouth was dry.

"No thank you, I'm good." Ethan said.

"Whatever." Caroline said.

"Caroline, what did we talk about earlier?" Daddy said, using his serious tone.

"Sorry." Caroline muttered and buried her face in her hands.

"I can deal with you later." Daddy said and Mama got up to join us. "You two stay here and we'll be back."

"Ok, I'll be here." Ethan said and Daddy started to lead us towards the vending machines.

For some reason, they were on the next floor up and we had to ride the elevator up.

"What do you want? Fruit snacks or Cheez-Its?" Daddy asked. I didn't take long to consider my options.

"Fruit snacks, please." I say and point at them.

Daddy punches in the code for the fruit snacks I want and once I got them, we looked at the drinks.

"What drink?" Daddy asked.

"Water, please." I say and he pushed the button for water.

After I got my stuff and they got theirs, we all headed back down the elevator to the first floor. We walked back into the waiting room and saw Caroline sitting without Ethan by her side.

"Caroline, where did Ethan go?" Mama asked as she looked around.

"He went to the bathroom." Caroline said, not even looking up from her magazine.

"Alright." Mama said as we all sat back down.

I ate my fruit snacks in silence and chugged my water down as I waited for Ethan to come out of the bathroom. It felt like an hour, but Ethan didn't comeout from the bathroom. I was starting to wonder if something happened in there.

"Ethan Decker?" a man in a suit called form the entrance of the waiting room.

"I believe he's in the bathroom at the moment." Mama said to the man.

"Alright, I'll just wait for him right here, then." The man said and sat down at a seat.

"Who are you?" Daddy asked the man.

"I'm Ethan's new social worker, Darren Williams." The man said and shook Daddy's hand. "I'm supposed to bring Ethan with me to the orphanage."

"What!? Why?" I asked and stood up.

"The doctor herre told me that Ethan's mother was stabbed and she didn't make it. His father was in surgery and he died while the surgery was in progress." Mr. Williams said.

"What? We were never told!" Daddy said. "Ethan and my oldest daughter stayed here while the rest of us went to get stuff from the vending machines."

"The doctor must've told Ethan right after you left because he called me before he told Ethan." Mr. Williams said. "You said that Ethan is in the bathroom? How long has he been there?"

"I'll go check on him." Daddy said and walked over to the bathroom.

"Caroline, you were here the whole time. Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Mama asked.

"I don't care what he does. He's not family." Caroline said and Mama glared daggers at her.

"You're grounded for the rest of this trip, Caroline Mae." Mama said and took her phone back. "And if I hear anything smart come out of your mouth again, there won't be any phone at all for you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Mom." Caroline said and slumped in her seat with her face red.

"Ethan's not in the bathroom." Daddy said as he came out from there. "The window is open and it looks like it's been open for a while now."

"Daddy, what're you saying?" I asked and felt the tears threatening to come back.

"I think Ethan may have run away." Daddy said.

I felt frozen while the world around me kept on rotating. Even though I was frozen in shock, Mr. William's went to the front desk. Mama started crying again, Daddy started to comfort Mama and Caroline tried to read her magazine again.

The only thing I could do at the given moment was stand there and let the tears go down my face. Ethan ran away and he never told me goodbye or give me any sort of warning.

I let the silent tears fall off my cheeks and on the floor, thinking one thing: Ethan ran away.

**At the end of the trip...**

"I did some research about this place and they also donate the hair people give to them." Mama said as we got the last of our suitcases packed. "We can go by McDonald's and eat breakfast there, go get your hair cut and then we get to the airport by noon."

"That sounds like a great idea, Mama." I said as I zipped my suitcase.

Today is our last day in New York. I almost feel sad about leaving, but I'm also glad to be going.

The past week has been hectic and out of control. Cops tried to search for Ethan around the hospital, but he wasn't there and was long gone by the time they got there. We were questioned and some people thought that we kidnapped Ethan.

We ignored those people and told the cops everything we knew. I was still upset that Ethan decided to run away and not even say goodbye to me. And now we're leaving in a couple of hours to go home. I'll never be able to see him again or talk him.

All of us got the suitcases and brought them to the car. We packed them in the back and then Mama decided to take me to the salon not too far away to get my hair cut.

My hair hangs all the way to my wasit and it's pretty thick. The salon I'm going to turns the hair into wigs for people with cancer or for those who just need a wig. I needed to get rid of my hair for a few reasons. One reason is because it's too long. The second reason is because it feels like I'm cutting off all of the stress and the bad things that happened over the week.

We arrived at McDonald's to get breakfast. Caroline was still mad about being grounded, but that was her own fault, not mine.

"Why can't you just text them for me and say that we're coming home?" Caroline asked Mama. "I'm technically not texting them if you send the message for me."

"I said no, Caroline! You're grounded and you can live without your friends for a few more hours!" Mama said. "Pick what you want for breakfast. We can't waste any time if you want to leave so badly."

"I want the bacon, egg and cheese biscuit." I say. "Can you order for me while I go to the bathroom?"

"Hurry back, Sophie." Daddy said and I walked in the direction of the bathroom.

I did my business and then started to wash my hands. I started to get paper towels when Caroline came in the door.

"You had to go, too?" I asked her and she shook her head.

"No, I came to talk to you." Caroline said.

Really? Caroline wants to talk to me? That's a first.

"_You_ want to talk to _me_?" I asked and made sure to look around to be sure she wasn't talking to someone else.

"Yes. I need you to help me get un-grounded." Caroline said as she picked under her fingernails.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I want to text my friends again instead of having to spend time with you guys." Caroline said and I felt hurt. "Just do it for me now. I can't wait any longer."

"No way. They had a good reason to ground you anyway." I said and dried my hands with the paper towels.

"And what reason would that be?" Caroline asked and I felt it all come out in a rush.

"Because you're being bossy and stuck-up and you act like you're too good to even be around us anymore." I say and then we both stare at each other. "You're trying to be someone you're not, Caroline. Don't you know how much it hurts whenever you never want to spend time with us? I know you really do care about someone dying, you're just trying to be one of those bitches who acts like nothing bad will ever happen to them."

"That's what you really think of me?" Caroline said and I blinked back the tears threatening to fall.

"Yes, but I still love you, Caroline. You're just changing in the wrong way and it's hurting all of us. Don't you care about us anymore?" I asked.

Caroline had a solem look on her face and she also looked like she was gonna cry. We stared at each other for a little bit and then she broke it off.

"I do care, but I'm changing for the better. And I won't tell Mom that you said a cuss word if you help me get un-grounded." Caroline said and it felt like my heart was torn in two.

'I don't care if you tell Mama that I cussed, but I can help you if you do something for me." I said.

"What?" Caroline asked.

"If I help you get the phone, then you have to talk to us, laugh with us and actually be part of the family for the rest of the trip." I said. "You won't pick up a magazine, you can talk to your friends as long as you talk to us and you won't act like a complete bitch."

"You're not making this easy on me, are you?" Caroline said and I shook my head.

"It's as easy as getting Mama to give you the phone." I said and we shook hands.

After that, we went back to our parents. Daddy got our food while Mama found a seat and we all actually talked as a family. Caroline kept up to her promise and I tried my hardest to get Mama to hand over her phone. It didn't take long because we finished eating and Mama decided that Caroline was good enough to earn it as long as she didn't ignore us.

"Now, let's go to the salon." Mama said and we all got to the car.

We headed off to the hair salon and I forgot how good it felt to talk to Caroline. Caroline was actually talking to me and the rest of us. I missed actually talking to her. Our song came on and she surprised me by singing along to it. I joined her and we both laughed. It made the time go by and we arrived at the salon in no time.

"Hello, you must be Sophie." A woman at the front desk said to me and she greeted the rest of us. "We have you a chair right over there, sweetie."

"Go on, Sophie." Mama said and I walked over to the chair.

I sat down in it and another woman starts to brush through my hair.

"My, my, you have lovely hair." the woman said with a French accent. "I vish I had hair zuch as yours."

"Thank you." I said and she quit brushing through my hair.

"Now, your hair iz already ztraight, zo I will put ze hairbow in and I shall cut it. Yes?" the woman said and I nodded as she put my hair in a bow. "Say bye bye to your hair!"

"Bye hair." I said and then felt the scissors start to cut through my hair.

Goodbye worries.

**Thirty minutes later...**

"And done! It iz beautiful, yes?" the woman said after half an hour of getting my hair cut.

I looked in the mirror and looked shocked. The woman put my hair in a tight braid and then chopped it off right at the seam. Once she did that, she cut off any stray ends and gave me a pixie cut. If I had the right outfit on, I would've looked like a real fairy.

"Wow! I love it!" I say and touch my hair. It's still soft, but about 3 inches long at the most. People won't recognize me back at home. "Can I see my other hair?"

The woman showed me my cut-off hair and I whistled at how long and how much was cut off.

"Jeez, that haircut makes you look smaller for some reason, Sophie." Caroline said. "It looks good, but now I can really call you my little sister."

"Ha, ha, I forgot how to laugh." I say sarcastically, but I smiled at her anyway. I really missed talking to her.

We thanked the women who worked there and I took one last look at my hair before we walked out of the door.

"Someone looks like a fairy in disguise." Daddy said and poked me on the forehead.

"Thanks, Daddy." I said as we all got back in the car. "Now where are we going?"

"We're going to the airport and grab some lunch there." Mama said. "But for now, let's all just talk and enjoy the sights of the city."

I stared out the window as Caroline started to name all of the people in the world who had bad haircuts and that I was lucky that the ladies in the hair salon didn't mess up. I could see my reflection in the window and I looked at my hair again. It was cool and I loved my haircut, but I missed my long hair.

I wonder what Ethan would do if he saw my hair. Would he like it as much as I do? Would he be calling me a fairy like the others?

"Alright, kids. Help us get the suitcases." Daddy said and we all got out.

Each of us got a suitcase and we headed to the baggage drop off. I said goodbye to my suitcase and let it go with the other suitcases.

For some reason, I felt torn. I wanted to stay here and find Ethan. I felt so guilty that he was out there all alone in New York City with no one to keep him company.

We soon got our tickets and then we headed out to the lunch area. We got lunch from the Burger King inside and I made sure to eat alot since we can't really afford to eat alot on the flight.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to the bathroom." I said and went to the bathroom.

I used the bathroom and came out of the bathroom. When I did, someone pulled on my arm and yanked me back in the shadows.

"Hey!" I said and tried to pull away.

"Marisabella, it's me, Tobias!" a voice I thought I would never hear again say.

"Ethan?" I asked and the arms let me go.

Ethan had on a dark hoodie and his entire head was covered. He pulled off his hood and I noticed how much his hair needed a brush.

"Hey." Ethan said and I hugged him. We both stood there hugging for a bit until he pulled away. "I just wanted to say goodbye before you left."

"You remembered." I said.

"Yeah. Plus, I like your haircut. It makes you look shorter than you already are and you could be a fairy." Ethan said and chuckled.

"So I've been told." I said and we lapsed into silence. "Why did you run away and not say goodbye?"

"I'm sorry for not warning you earlier, but the doctor said that the social worker was coming and I just had to get out of there." Ethan said. "I don't want to go into the foster system and I don't want any foster parents. I've seen some people go through life like that and they lived in hell. I don't want to live in hell."

"I just wish you left me some sort of note or a sign that told me you were gonna leave." I said. "Where are you gonna live now? The police are searching for you and they may or may not arrest you."

"I know, I have to avoid them." Ethan said and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm going to live with my friends, remember? I found them yesterday and they know the area well. I can stay with them and we can all survive New York together."

"Oh...good for you then." I said and looked down. "I don't want to leave you. I feel guilty already about your parents."

"It's ok. I'll miss you, too." Ethan said and we hugged again. I heard my flight number get called.

"I have to go back. They called my flight number." I said and we pulled back. "So...this is goodbye?"

"No, not goodbye. Just...see you later." Ethan said. "If you ever come back to New York, just try to find me. I should still be here."

"Alright. See you later, Tobias." I say and give him one last big hug.

"After while, Marisabella." Ethan said and we pulled apart.

Ethan put his hood back on and I walked away, holding back tears as I did. Mama and Daddy looked like they were headed our way and I ran over to them.

"You were taking so long and I thought someone kidnapped you." Mama said and she grabbed my hand. Daddy had Caroline in his sights and we all followed everyone in the line to board the airplane.

We all got seated to the plane and I rested my head back on the seat, still trying to ignore the throbbing in my heart. I looked back in the window and saw the airport. People were at the large glass window and I saw something that nearly made me cry.

A hooded figure was standing in the far corner and looked pressed up against the glass. He was waving at the plane and I didn't know if he was waving at someone else or me. I waved back and I felt the plane start to move. The plane was going to lift off soon, but it had to turn in the right direction for it to lift off.

The hooded figure went out from my view and I laid my head back on the seat, seriously trying not to cry.

"Sophie, are you alright?" Mama asked.

"Not really. I'm just worried about Ethan. What if he gets hurt or something really bad happens to him?" I said and Mama gave me a hug.

"Ethan will be ok. The police will find him and maybe he can get into the foster system." Mama said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Your father and I were talking about it after we heard the news. But now that Ethan ran away and no one can find him, we never could go with the plan." Mama said.

"What plan?" I asked and felt the plane start to move.

"We were hoping to adopt Ethan or be his foster parents." Mama said and I felt my whole world crash down.

Mama and Daddy were going to adopt Ethan? If I had knew this earlier, then I could've told Ethan to stay with the police or something. He really could've become my brother.

The plane took off and I looked out the window. I watched as the land became tinier and I could only see some of the buildings.

I let the tears fall down my face and I put a hand on the window.

"Goodbye, Ethan." I whispered.

With that, I closed my eyes and laid my head back on the seat to cry myself to sleep.

**Chappie done! Thank god!**

**What do you guys think? Betcha didn't see that coming. Now we shall see what happens to Ethan and Sophie in the next chapter.**

**So, I do have some good news. TOMORROW IS MY GRADUATION DAY! I honestly feel like jumping up and down and singing For the First Time in Forever from Frozen. I can't believe I'm graduating from high school! It feels like a dream come true!**

**Anyway, I need to get some sleep for tomorrow. Wish me luck!**

**Please read and review and no flames please! :)**


	6. Bittersweet Return

**I'm back with another chapter! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I don't have a laptop anymore. Working on the phone is really hard and sometimes my phone erases all of my work. It gets really annoying whenever I have to start over from where I last saved.**

**Anyway, in this chapter, you get to see what happens after Ethan disappeared in New York and Sophie goes home to Texas.**

**There's nothing else for me to say, so read on!**

**I own: My OC's**

**Nickelodeon owns: this version of TMNT**

**Sophie POV**

**3 years later...**

"Sophie, come on! If we miss our flight, it's all on you!" Caroline's voice called from the other side of my closed door.

"Give us a moment! We're almost done packing!" I called back.

Caroline's footsteps faded away after that.

"Just make sure you bring me back something." My best friend, Tara, said.

After that one fateful summer, Tara and her family moved in from West Virginia the following school year. We both ended up having a bunch of classes together and she chose to be my friend instead of going to the popular groups.

Before long, we started staying over at each other's houses and became best friends. I told her all of my secrets and she told me hers. I even told her about Ethan and she told me about a friend she lost to cancer.

"I promise." I said and zipped up my suitcase.

We were going back to New York for a week long vacation, just like that one summer 3 years ago.

Over those 3 years, I never gave up on finding Ethan or his 2 friends he was staying with. I looked on the web, checked the news and I even looked through the news papers. But it was all useless. All of those hours searching for them were wasted when I couldn't find anything. Not a single trace.

"I have to get Mom to give me a cell phone of my own so I can text you." Tara said as she followed me out of my room.

"I have to ask my mom for one, too." I said as I walked into the living room with the rest of my family.

Mom and Dad were starting to take the suitcases out to the car while Caroline looked at her phone.

"Alright, we're done." I said and Caroline glanced up at us for barely a second before looking back at her phone.

"Good. Mom and Dad said we need to hurry if we're going to make it to the airport on time." Caroline said and then she took her suitcase in hand.

Still looking at her phone, Caroline walked out of the house and to the car.

"I guess we don't have long, do we?" Tara asked as she ran her fingers through her long, brown hair and I nodded.

We both walked out into the sunlight and watched as Mom and Dad both packed up the suitcases.

"We should be back soon at the end of the week." Dad said and turned to me and Tara. "Give me your suitcase, Sophie. We have to hurry!"

"Here you go." I said and gave Dad my suitcase, then turned to Tara. "I'll see you in a week."

"Don't forget to call me and stuff." Tara said as we hugged. "Have gun in New York. But not too much fun, you hear?"

"Alright, bye Tara." I said and she walked towards her house, not too far away from ours.

Tara moved in about 3 houses down the street from us. That made it easier on us whenever we wanted to hang out or have sleepovers.

Caroline was already in the car waiting and Mom started to get in the drivers seat. Dad closed the truck when he got all of the suitcases inside.

"Let's go, Sophie." Dad said and we both got in the car.

"Is everyone buckled?" Mom asked as I buckled and I nodded.

"Yeah." Me and Caroline said at the same time.

"Ok. Tell this place bye for the week." Mom said as she pulled out of the driveway.

I looked back at the house and studied it for the few seconds Mom took to back out. For some reason, it felt like this would be the last time I would see the house. But the feeling washed away as Mom drove off down the street.

It didn't take Mom long to get to the airport and we soon got on the plane. I was seated next to Mom and Caroline while Dad got the aisle seat.

"I think we can all take naps while this thing flies." Dad said as he got cozy in his seat.

"I hope this plane flies quickly." Caroline said as she leaned her head back in the seat.

I did the same without saying anything. I felt the plane start to move and I closed my eyes.

I wonder if I ever get to see Ethan again. Would he still be the same? Would he want to talk about how much our lives changed in the last 3 years? Would he still remember me or talk to me at all?

The plane took off and I started to drift off into sleep, wondering if I ever get to see my friend again on this trip.

**Later...**

"This hotel room is better than the one before." Caroline said as we all studied the room.

She was right about that. The living room was much bigger and the bedrooms could fit 2 people in each room.

"We're only half a block away from the other hotel." Dad said.

I had to block the painful memories of having that sleep over that night.

"Other than getting unpacked, what's the plan for the rest of the day?" I asked.

"Well, I figured we could go out walking and see if we can find a nice spot for dinner." Mom said as she took their suitcases into their room. "Start getting unpacked so we can go out."

"Ok." Caroline and I said at the same time.

We took our suitcases into our room and started unpacking our stuff into the drawers.

"I'm going to have to start talking to you guys again, aren't I?" Caroline asked as we unpacked. "I can tell by now that Mom will hold up on that threat of grounding me from my phone."

"It doesn't surprise me at all that you still don't want to talk to us or even be seen around us." I said and put my clothes in the drawer. "It makes me wonder if you're gonna be a bigger bitch than you already are."

"I'm trying to be popular." Caroline said. "I'm not going to be walked all over and pushed around like you're going to be in high school."

Don't you know that I don't care about that." I said. "I would rather be teased by everyone in the world than be like you and your supposed to be 'friends'. What happens if they all of a sudden start making fun of you? Some friends they are."

"Jennifer and Brittany would never do that to me. That's why I never hang out with losers or spend alot of time with my family. They don't do that and I won't either." Caroline shot back.

"But you did before and you're gonna do it later." I said and Caroline turned to me with a smirk.

"That's so I don't have to be forced to socialize with you if my phone gets taken away." Caroline said and walked towards me. "You won't tell them about any family time during this trip. If you do, I'll make sure you always stay below me."

"Caroline, I don't care if I'm popular. It's not important to me." I said. "Your excuses for threats won't work on me. Your 'friends' are even worse than you!"

"Popularity is the beat thing in the world. Why do you not want it?" Caroline asked like I was stupid.

"Because I'm not like you." I said. "I don't want to dress up in dresses all the time or wear those itchy outfits that cost out the ass. Why can't you be happy with what you have? You may not have it one day."

"I want more than just this stupid family crap. I want everyone to know me and be my friend. I want people to look up to me and want them to envy my every step." Caroline said. "Until I get that, I'll never be happy with what I got."

"So...you don't care that I love you and the rest of us care about you either?" I asked with a broken expression.

"No. And having everything else in the world is alot better than family." Caroline said with a serious expression.

I could see a hint of hurt in her eyes as she said that and I sighed.

"What happened to you, Caroline?" I asked.

"I grew up. That's what happened." Caroline said and then someone knocked on the door.

"Are you girls done unpacking?" Mom's voice called.

"Yeah, I'm done." I called back and went to my empty suitcase.

"Ok. Hurry up, Caroline." Mom called again and I guess she walked away.

"It's still a wonder I talk to you at all, Sophie." Caroline said as she kept unpacking. "I feel so sorry for you."

"I'm sorry for you, too, Caroline." I said as I put the empty suitcase in the closet and walked out in the living room. I'm done arguing with her.

"We were hoping to go to a Broadway show sometime this week. How does that sound to you, Sophie?" Dad asked and my mind went to the last time we went to Broadway.

I shook the thought from my mind and nodded at Dad.

"That sounds great. What're they showing this time?" I asked and Dad looked at the little booklet in his hand.

"I think they're showing Jekyll and Hyde." Dad answered and Caroline finally walked out of the room.

Caroline managed to out on makeup really fast because she didn't have any on earlier.

"We're thinking about going to see Jekyll and Hyde sometime this week, Caroline." Dad said. "Isn't that great?"

"What's Jekyll and Hyde?" Caroline asked.

"Haven't you guys read that play in English or seen the tape on it in another class?" Mom asked.

I seen the movie of the play in Drama class one time, but I'm sure Caroline never paid any attention to it at all if she ever took a Drama class.

"I did. I like that part where Jekyll turned himself into Hyde." I said.

"Mt favorite part is where Jekyll tried to warn Lucy." Mom said and then stood up. "We should definitely go. It'll be a good chance for you to see it, Caroline."

"Ok." Caroline said with a fake smile.

"Alright, let's go walking so we can find a good place for dinner." Dad said as he got up.

We all got up and walked out. We soon started walking out on New York City streets. I enjoyed the sights and noticed how alot of things changed while we were gone.

I noticed an all-too familiar place across the street from us. I turned away from the place and followed Mom and Dad. Caroline walked at my pace and kept looking at her phone like always. We went as far as Main Street before stopping at a restaurant nearby to eat.

"So, are you two having fun yet?" Dad asked and I nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. I can't wait to go see Jekyll and Hyde." I said as we sat down at a table. "When are we going?"

"That's just it. I know what day, but access to my bank account is hard from here. I could try to get that old bank thing going from Ethan's parents, but the city and CGRI have been battling over it since that day." Dad explained and I tried not to show any pain from that day. "I think the city may win the election and get a hold of the bank deals and I believe they're going to let old customers try to renew their accounts. I'm willing to try it."

"I'm glad the city decided to let this go on. I'm sure the Deckers would be proud." Mom said. "Even Ethan, wherever he's at now."

My heart throbbed at the mention of Ethan. He would be 16 this year. I wonder what he would say if he knew I was now a teenager? If he found out I was 13?

"So, let's say we go to the bank the day after tomorrow. That way we can all go see Jekyll and Hyde the same day." Mom said, breaking me out of my trance. "In the mean time, we can all go out shopping."

"That sounds like a great idea, Mom." Caroline said. Of course it's a good idea. Anything that has to do with shopping is always a good idea to Caroline. "What places should we hit? I'll look up different stores around the hotel and see if they have any clothes that are in right now."

"So if we're going to the bank after tomorrow, what're we gonna do tomorrow?" I asked after we got our drinks and ordered our food.

"We can go to the park around the other side of Broadway and probably spend some time in the museum." Mom said. "Or we can go to the pool later after we eat lunch."

"Do you think by any chance we can look at some shops to see what fashion sense they have?" Caroline asked. "Then we can just skip over them and have more time to hit the good shops."

"Maybe, Caroline. But you have to remember that the money you got is the only money you can spend from today until after tomorrow." Mom said and Caroline fiddled with her straw.

"Ok, Mom." Caroline murmured and sipped her drink, partially satisfied.

Our food finally came and we ate having a good time just talking to each other. Caroline even talked to us and I once again missed the good times we had when we were little. Dad talked about how much he was getting paid while on vacation. Mom said something about painting the loving room at our house a different color when we got back.

We all got dessert and I have to admit, chocolate covered pretzels and cherry dip are pretty good.

"I'll be back. I gotta go to the bathroom." I said and went to the bathroom on the other side of the restaurant.

I went inside and did my business and walked out.

"Marisabella?" A voice not so deep, but familiar, said and I froze.

I turned around to see a tall guy in a black hoodie standing by the men's bathroom door. The hood covered his curly blonde locks, but I recognized his eyes. I couldn't believe it.

"Ethan?" I asked and I gaped at him.

Ethan had gotten really tall, but he was stick thin. His hair was semi-long for a guy, but it was still as curly as ever. Ethan had a blond-ish beard growing and it was kinda small, but a bit long. If it wasn't for his face, eyes, hair and my code name, I never would've recognized him.

"Yeah, it's me." Ethan said, his voice rougher and sounding like a grown teen.

We both hugged, but he had to bend down and pick me up off the floor.

"I missed you!" I said, face buried into his shoulder.

"I missed you, too." Ethan said and he put me down.

"You've gotten so tall." I said. "Now you officially make me look like a shrimp." Ethan laughed, a sound I haven't heard in a long time.

"I know. You let your hair grow back out." Ethan said and pointed at my hair. I took a long lock of it in my hand and twirled it in my fingers.

"Yeah, I planned on cutting it again here and donating it." I explained. "I donated it once in Plano and had to cut it again because someone got gum in it. All of that happened in 3 years."

"I guess I missed alot." Ethan said. "Have you turned 13 yet?"

"Yeah. Aren't you 16?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah and I've had a major growth spurt." Ethan said and looked at himself.

"No shit." I said and Ethan smirked.

"You've been using your terms. Nice." he said and I smirked.

"I had a good teacher." I said and he smiled. There was a small silence.

"I made a new friend back in Plano." I said, breaking the silence. "Her name'sTara Peterson and she moved in the neighborhood before school started when that one summer ended."

"That's cool." Ethan said. "At least you didn't have to be alone anymore. What about Caroline? Has she changed at all or is she still a bitch?"

"It's worse. Way worse." I said. "I think I might've lost her."

"I'm sorry." Ethan apologized. "Don't give up on her just yet. Hopefully she'll come to her senses."

"I just hope you're right." I said. "What about your two friends? Did you ever find them?"

"Yeah, I found them. Well, more like we all found each other." Ethan answered. "They seen about what happened that day on the news and they came to find me. Ever since then, we've all been living on the streets and staying out of the way of other people."

"At least you guys are safe." I said. "How do you guys eat and stuff? Where do you live? Do any of you make any money or steal it?"

"We steal food from people every now and then, but we like to eat snacks from the little convenience stores." Ethan explained. "You should see the mountain piles of snacks we steal from just one store. You'd shit your pants."

"Is it really that big?" I asked and he nodded.

"We conserve everything we got. But we live here, there and everywhere in old buildings." Ethan explained. "We like to keep low profiles and move around alot so that way if anyone seen us go into our hiding spot, we have back up spots to go to."

"How many places do you live in?" I asked.

"I've lost track of the buildings and other places we've stayed in, but there were alot of places we crashed at." Ethan said. "As for money, we do steal some from people on rare occasions. But Jared, my friend, knows a guy who can make fake IDs and we use those to get jobs. That's how we get money."

"Lemme guess, your fake name's Tobias Xander Laine?" I asked with a smirk.

"You guessed it." Ethan said and chuckled. "Where are you guys staying?"

"I think the hotel's called Lucaron. It's not that far from the other hotel we stayed at the last time we came here." I said.

"I think I seen that place before." Ethan said. "Normally, we try not to stay around the same area for too long in case someone were to recognize us. If someone tries to point us out more than twice to the cops, then we move to a different location in New York."

"How many times has that happened?" I asked.

"Only once. We had to leave this place for about a year until things calmed down." Ethan answered and I thought back to what Mom said before the plane left 3 years ago.

"If you went into the foster system that day, Mom and Dad were considering adopting you." I said and Ethan looked surprised.

"They were?" he asked and I nodded. "Oh. But it still would've been in vain. Here in the US, it can sound like you're just waiting months, but it turns into years. I remember Jared saying something about an adopted cousin taking 2 years to get home."

"I've known people who were adopted who only had to wait for weeks." I said.

"We're they adopted from overseas?" Ethan asked and I nodded. "Most people who're adopted from overseas have to wait at the most a year to get brought in. Either they must've been really young to not remember anything or they were just really lucky to get out of that hell."

"I'm sorry." I apologized. " I just wanted you to be my brother legally."

"It's ok. Believe me, I would've loved to wait in order to be completely part of your family if the system wasn't so horrible." Ethan said. "When did they say that they wanted to adopt me?"

"It was on the plane before we took off." I answered. "I had to make myself fall asleep before I started crying."

"I'm sorry." Ethan apologized and brought me in for a hug.

"It's ok." I said and hugged him back. "Speaking of my parents, I probably have to get back."

"Are you guys going somewhere during the week? Maybe I can try to find you." Ethan said and I shook my head.

"As good as that sounds, Mom and Dad would try to get you to go to the system so they can try to adopt you." I said. "And Caroline would probably try to get you arrested."

"Of course she would." Ethan said and I couldn't get myself to move.

"What if we don't see each other again? I don't know if we're ever gonna come back to New York or not." I said.

"If we don't see each other again during the week, I'll see you at the airport before you take off." Ethan promised and hugged me again.

We stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling away.

"The only place we're going in the week right now are to your parents' bank and Broadway." I said and Ethan flinched the slightest at the mention of his parents.

"What're you guys going there for?" Ethan asked and I sighed.

"It was something about the money and account my dad signed up for that one time." I explained. "He said something about the city and some other company fighting over the control of their bank."

"In all honesty, I wish they would just shut down the program altogether." Ethan said. "Sure it got my dad there best job in there world, but only he knew how to work it."

"I guess they just want the credit of taking it over." I said. "I'm gonna go. They're definitely gonna wonder where I am."

"Alright. Just be careful and I'll see you soon." Ethan said and pulled me in for one last hug.

"Bye, Tobias." I said and pulled away.

"Bye, Marisabella." Ethan said and I walked back towards our table.

"What took you so long?" Caroline asked.

"My stomach got a little upset, but I'm good now." I said and sat down.

We waited for Mom and Dad to get done with their deserts and then left. We started walking down the street and I just happened to see a fairly large building with those letters that Dad mentioned earlier this morning.

"Hey, Dad?" I asked and tugged on his arm.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Isn't that building over there then same building that's trying to take over there bank?" I asked and pointed to the building.

"Oh yeah, that's TCRI." Dad said. "I hope that the city wins the battle over the bank. I heard some weird things with TCRI."

"Me, too." I said and remembered an article I read on their website that was pretty weird while I searched for news on Ethan.

We got back to the hotel by dark and I sat in the living room with Dad watching them news while Mom took a shower and Caroline kept talking on the phone in our room.

"_In other news, the battle for Decker Inc. bank and it's program still goes on strong as TCRI tries to take over." _ the reporter on the news said.

"_Even though the voting ends tomorrow, TCRI keeps battling over the bank with the program. Customers and employers are getting antsy over the long wait and not having to use their accounts. Many still wonder if they should just shut down the program and even give up the search for Ethan Laine Decker, the son of the owner and possible heir, who went missing after the sudden death of his parents..."_

I stopped listening after that and looked away. Dad must've noticed because his hand touched mine in a comforting way.

"Are you ok, Sophie?" he asked and I looked at him while figuring out a lie to tell him.

"Not really. I'm just worried about Ethan. I said. "He's been missing for 3 years and no one's seen him."

"Ethan's a strong boy, Sophie. He's not dead. One day he'll come back when he feels the time is right." Dad said. "It's getting a bit late. Go on to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

"Ok. Goodnight, Dad. Thank you. And tell Mom I said goodnight and I love her." I said and hugged him.

"Your welcome and I will. I love you." Dad said as he hugged me back and kissed me on the head.

"I love you, too." I said and went into my room.

Caroline wasn't talking on the phone, but she was texting. I quickly changed into my pj's and slid into bed.

"I heard yours and Dad's conversation. In all honesty, I think Ethan's dead." Caroline said and I looked back at her with disbelief. "If anything, he could've died last year and his body was never found. Don't waste your time trying to find him the rest of this trip. You should focus on finding a good outfit for this school year."

"I can't believe you." I said and turned to face the wall.

"What? I'm just trying to help you get a good start in middle school fashion." Caroline said and she didn't say anything else.

I gritted my teeth and calmed myself down. I seen Ethan earlier, he's alive and well. Caroline's just being a bitch and she doesn't know how much that hurt my feelings. I closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep.

**2 days later...**

"Alright, we're here." Dad said as we finally stopped at the building.

I remember stopping here 3 years ago while Mom and Dad got the account and the rest of us waitedin the car. I can't believe we're actually at the bank where my best friend's parents died. I dreaded coming here since yesterday.

We did go walking a few hours after breakfast and went to a couple of shops. Caroline was enthusiastic about getting this one dress at Rue 21 and I got a new pair of shoes from Plato's Closet. We went out to eat again at another restaurant for lunch and went around shopping again. We ate dinner at a fast food restaurant and went home after that.

I was exhausted to the point where Dad had to carry me inside to bed. While we were eating at the restaurant yesterday, one of the TVs were on the news and it said that the city had won over the bank instead of TCRI.

I was happy for that and I'm sure Ethan saw it from somewhere. I didn't see him yesterday, but I hope I can see him again soon.

"Wow, I guess people really missed this program." Dad said as we walked inside.

The place was packed and it was a big bank.

I seen a few pictures on the wall of Mr. and Mrs. Decker and young Ethan, like a shrine. On the wall beside of Ethan's picture, there was a poster of Ethan as a young kid and what he would look like now. Above the pictures were the words, 'Have you seen this kid?'

I looked away from it and focused on the line ahead of us.

"How long do you think we have to wait in this line?" Caroline asked as she looked at her phone. "I was hoping to go back shopping after this."

"I don't know, Caroline. But we probably don't have time to go shopping again because we're going to see Jekyll and Hyde." Mom said and Caroline scowled.

I smiled, finally no more shopping for a while!

"Can we at least go shopping later?" Caroline asked. "I don't really like Jake and Hinder."

"It's called Jekyll and Hyde, Caroline." I corrected her. "I've been wanting to see it for a while now."

"Whatever." Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Caroline, watch your tone or I'll take away your phone." Mom threatened and Caroline looked defeated.

"Yes, Mom." she said.

I noticed a few people who were acting strange. A woman who was dressed as a corporate and 3 men who look exactly the same stood near the entrance. I have no idea if they're getting their accounts reset or if they're just trying to be creepy, but they're acting a bit suspicious.

I tried to ignore them and looked ahead at the slowly shrinking line, but it was all in vain when that suspicious feeling came back.

Suddenly, screams filled the room and people started running away.

"What's going on?" I asked and gripped Dad's hand.

"I don't know." Dad said and I noticed the same suspicious people holding these futuristic guns.

A few more people came in holding the same guns and they all looked like the triplet-men. What the hell's going on?

"Honey?" Mom asked as she looked wide-eyed at the scene before us.

"We have to get out of here!" Dad said and grabbed our hands.

We followed him near the back where other people and employees were escaping when he stopped abruptly.

"Caroline!?" he shouted and I noticed that my sister's missing.

I scanned the room and saw her trying to keep away from one of the men. Before I knew it, Dad was gone and making his way over towards Caroline and the man.

"Dad!" I shouted and Mom held me back from running to him.

**(WARNING!: Things start getting a little intense here and I'm gonna put this part as M-rated. I'll let you know when it's done. Prepare yourselves for extreme sadness and a whole lot of tears. Here. *hands y'all a tissue*)**

Dad managed to punch the man in the face and shove Caroline forward in out direction. Even though the men were shooting in the air and at a few tables, I noticed a few that were shooting people who're trying to escape and fight back. I looked away as they got shot.

"Mom! Sophie!" Caroline yelled as she just about tackled us in a hug.

I hugged her back and then looked past her head in time to see Dad fall on the floor with a man pointing his gun at him. It didn't take me long to realize what just happened to him.

"DADDY!" I yelled and saw the floor start to stain red around him.

"ROBERT!" Mom shouted and we all took off to his side.

Dad was gasping for breath and holding his side where he got shot as more blood surrounded him.

"Dad!" Caroline yelled and I felt the tears prick at my eyes.

"Oh God, Robert!" Mom cried and Caroline started to cry, too.

"Get...somewhere...safe." Dad managed to get out and the tears finally slipped down my face.

"Daddy, don't leave us here!" I cried and held his hand. "Please, just hold on and we can get you to a doctor!"

"No...time. I love...you all..." Dad choked and he started to still.

"No, no, no! Dad!" Caroline sobbed and Mom cried harder as she kissed Dad on the lips.

Dad's movements slowed rapidly and then stopped altogether as his hand slipped from mine.

"NO! Daddy! Don't leave!" I cried and buried my face in his neck.

I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces and I kept crying. I didn't know how long we sat there crying with each other as we realized that Dad was dead.

" You, humans, must face that wall of the place that is called the bank!" a monotone voice said and I looked up to see one of the men pointing a gun at us.

His face showed no emotion, but it made him look that much scarier. His voice sounded weird and the way he talked didn't help.

"Caroline, Sophie, we have to move." Mom's voice cracked.

I didn't want to leave Dad's side, but with the scared look on Mom's face I decided to move. I squeezed Dad's hand one last time before breaking away with Mom and Caroline.

During our struggle, the men gathered up everyone still alive against the wall. A bunch of bodies had littered the floor with blood. It looked like a scene out of a horror movie and it made me feel sad that my father was one of those bodies. I hugged Mom as we all crouched down beside some other terrified people.

"Mom, what do we do now?" Caroline asked as she wiped her eyes and wiped away her makeup.

"I don't know, Caroline." Mom sniffles and we all hug each other for comfort as we start crying.

I watched the men take the money from the safe and start doing something with the computer. I didn't pay attention to them after that and kept letting the tears fall.

I closed my eyes and sniffled at the thought of having to never see Daddy ever again. I almost started crying again when Mom gripped my shoulder. I looked up to notice that the men were strapping on these devices to other people.

"What're they doing, Mom?" I asked as they put those things on every other person.

"I think they may be strapping bombs on people." Mom said and she let us go. "Stay on your hands and knees and start crawling to the door. Just follow me. No matter what happens when we get to the door, run as fast as you can. Don't turn back, do you understand?"

I could see the fear in her eyes, but she was determined to get us out. I didn't want to leave her behind if she couldn't get out, but I gulped and nodded as Caroline hugged Mom one more time.

We did as we were told and we slowly crawled away towards the door with Mom. Luckily, the men were too busy with strapping the bombs on people to notice us crawling away. I peeked back to see a couple of people trying to fight the men for putting the bombs on them. It kept them distracted, but the result of them fighting got them shot or shoved back down.

"Remember what I told you. Don't stop running." Mom whispered and my heart clenched at the thought of possibly leaving her behind.

"What's going to happen to you if you get caught?" Caroline asked with fear.

"I'll be fine. Just take your sister and-"

BANG!

The sound made me jump as Mom fell back against the door and Caroline and I screamed.

"MOM!" Caroline screamed and I watched the blood flow out of her rib cage in horror.

Her shirt stained red really fast. Not Mom. Please, not my mother.

"No! Mama!" I cried and felt the tears flow again.

Mom tried to say something, but blood came out of her mouth instead and her eyes closed.

"Mom, please!" Caroline sobbed and she hugged Mom.

I grabbed Mom's hand and it went limp in mine.

"Mama...please don't leave us!" I said and I felt my tears drip off my chin.

"You humans must wear these bombs as part of Kraang's plan to rob the bank." one of the men said and pointed his gun at us.

Caroline and I didn't move from our spots and the man hut me away with his gun. He did the same to Caroline and we backed up against the wall. Once we were against the wall, the man went to help his buddies and left us alone.

"Sophie, I'm so sorry for the way I've been acting. You were right about our family. I'm sorry for being such a bitch." Caroline sniffled. "If I could go back in time to correct the mistakes I've made, I would take that chance. I'm just hoping that you can forgive me."

"It's ok, Caroline. We've all made mistakes." I said and we both hugged each other. "You're forgiven."

We stayed like that for a moment until a few people tried to fight back against the men. Three people got shot and one guy managed to take a man's gun while he was down. Once he did, he started firing at the men and they started to fire back.

There were several things I noticed then.

One is when the men got shot, they fell over sparking like as if they had wires inside of them or they were shorting out. Second, the people who had bombs strapped to them were getting hit by the gunshots and at least one of those shots are going to hit a bomb.I realize that now is our chance to escape.

" Caroline, run!" I yelled and we both made a mad dash to the door along with a few others who didn't have a bomb on them who had the same idea.

Someone had moved Mom's body to the side and I couldn't help but stare at her as I ran by. Caroline had my hand in hers and I knew that if we stopped, we'd be trampled by the other people escaping or shot by a gun. So we both ran out the door and into the sunlight.

In front of the building, there was a large police barricade with passerbys all around the barrier. Once the police saw us start to come out, they started screaming at us to get over here and even hoping older the barriers to get to us. I smiled now that we were free.

BOOM!

I was thrown forward and hit the ground as an explosion happened behind me. Whoever was on either side of me hit the ground and I covered my head. The air was filled with screams and intense heat as I sat up and looked behind me. The bank was on fire and the glass from the windows broke. But I was alive and so was my sister.

"Caroline, we made it!" I said and nudged her arm from beside of me. But she didn't move from the spot and I got worried. "Caroline?"

I nudged her again and she still didn't move. I finally turned her around and I fell back in shock.

Caroline had a large piece of metal stuck in her chest and another smaller piece sticking right below her rib cage. Her bright red blood started to surround her body and her eyes stared up into space, seeing nothing. Caroline never saw it coming.

"NO! Caroline!" I screamed and shook her by the shoulders, hoping that this was a horrible nightmare that I would soon wake up from.

Everyone I love is dead. I won't ever see them again. I finally broke down and started crying my heart out. I forgot how long I stayed like that, but a fireman eventually came over and pulled me away from my sister. He put me on a stretcher in an ambulance while the medic tried to calm me down.

**(Everything M-rated is done for. Now it's just a whole lot of sadness and tears. *hands y'all a tissue box* You'll need this.)**

"I want my mother! I want my family back!" I cried and hugged myself as the medic tried to comfort me. I finally calmed down after a while and just sniffled as the tears kept falling down my cheeks.

"Hello?" A voice said and I looked up at the person speaking. "I'm Alan Tanger of the social services. Was your family in there?"

I sniffled and nodded.

"Do you have any other family to look after you?" he asked as I shook my head and looked away. "After the doctors make sure you're ok, you're gonna take a ride with me to my office and we can find you a new place to stay."

"Can I...go to the bathroom?" I asked and he nodded.

He led me over to the restaurant next door and I went inside. I walked towards the back where the bathrooms were and went out the back door. I took off running as fast as I could down the alleys and past buildings. I didn't stop running even though I was tired and out of breath.

I finally collapsed in another alley and cried my heart out. I watched Mom's, Dad's and Caroline's faces floated through my head and realized that I won't be able to go back home. I sat there and cried myself to sleep.

I woke up near dark and stopped myself from crying again. I started walking again down random streets and kept my head down if anyone noticed me. I soon walked down a near abandoned street with only a few people around me.

"Marisabella?" I heard the familiar voice. I turned around to face Ethan. "I heard about what happened. I'm so sorry."

I stood there for a second as tears threatened to fall and gave Ethan a hug.

"I don't...k-know what to...do." I cried and buried my face in his hoodie.

"You can come live with us. Jared and Ben won't mind and they understand. We all do." Ethan said and rubbed my head. I looked up at him and he wiped away my tears. "Let's go. Police may start searching here soon."

"I want to do something first." I said and wiped away my remaining tears.

"What?" Ethan asked.

**Later...**

"Now we have some money and I have less worries." I said and ran my hand threw my now shortened hair.

I decided that now was a good chance to donate my hair and get some money out of it. My hair was now in a pixie cut.

"Let's go now. I think those women got a bit suspicious in there when they seen me." Ethan said as he put the money in his pocket. "You still look like a little kid from the last time you got your hair cut in a pixie style. It's awesome."

"Thanks." I said and looked out at the New York City streets. "Everything's different now."

"I know. That's how I felt when I lost everything." Ethan said and I followed him to the alleys. "But now we can start new lives and we can leave all of this behind. What do you say, Marisabella?"

"Sure thing, Tobias." I said and smirked.

I know I lost everything, but hopefully I won't lose this part of my life with Ethan. I looked back at the end of the alley where we came from and saw the barely busy street. New York City is my new home now.

I looked back to Ethan and smiled. He smiled back at me and took my hand in his. Brother and sister, hand in hand, we both walked into the alleys of New York City.

**Wow. I finally get this thing done. Once again, so sorry for the long wait. I know you guys have been waiting forever to see this. Anyway, you guysgot what you wanted, so I'll leave you alone and start working on my other stories.**

**Please read and review and no flames please! :)**


	7. Hard Knock Life

**Don't hate me! I've had so much shit going on! It's been a little after 4 months since I last updated, but hopefully this new chapter will make you not hate me.**

**I was going to update about two weeks ago, but my grandfather got sick and he's had to move to 3 different hospitals and had to have open heart surgery. If he didn't have a UTI (urinary tract infection) his doctors never would've found out that he needed surgery. He's at home now and recovering, but him being a diabetic will make him heal a bit slower. I've mainly been spending as much time with him as I can because he can't walk around for very long or stress himself out.**

**And for more great news, I finally got the laptop my aunt and uncle promised me for graduation! It was late a few months, but now I can get stuff done a lot faster now that I have this laptop.**

**Well, that's all I got for now. I'll let you all read on so I can get back to updating other stories.**

**I own: My OC's**

**Nickelodeon owns: this version of TMNT**

**2 years later...**

**No One's POV**

It's night out in New York City and people are out doing whatever business they usually do. In the most popular part of New York City, people were all over the place buying groceries and paying their bills. Among those people, 4 teenagers walked the busy streets with hoodie on and their heads low.

Thier target is a small store sitting in the corner of a street. Taking their hoods off, the teenagers walk into the store and start laughing. The cashier raised his head and looked at the group before looking back at hid magazine. Taking their opportunity, the 4 teenagers split up around the store. Each one of them eyed the cameras and made sure to angle themselves where the cameras won't see then and stuff items into their pockets.

The girl of the group went over to one of the taller boys and pretended to have a rational conversation with him. At the angle they faced from the camera, it couldn't see them stuff more items into their pockets. They went all around the store taking a few items off the shelf and stuffing them in their pockets. Finally, they all walked to the cashier with a few items and some money.

"Is that all?" the cashier asked as he scanned their items.

"Yeah." One of the boys answered and the cashier put their items in bags.

"2.51 is your change. Thank you and have a nice evening." the cashier said as he handed them their change and bags.

"Your welcome." the girl said and they walked out.

Shoving their hoods back on, they ran into an alley and disappeared down 2 more before crawling into a window to an old building.

"Did anyone see us?" asked one of the boys as they turned on some lights.

"No one's around." the girl said as she blocked the window with a large piece of wood. "Nobody dropped anything, did they?"

"A bag of M&amp;M's nearly slid from my pocket, but nothing else." the tallest boy said as they all got in the middle of the room.

"Ok, candy goes here, chips go there, drinks go there, granola bars go here, cookies right over there and other necessities go in the chair." one of the other boys ordered and they started unpacking whatever they had on their person in the respective spots.

Once they finished clearing out all of the stuff they shoplifted, the 4 teenagers looked at their large bounty.

"A total of 20 drinks, 40 bags of chips, 9 bags of cookies, 5 granola bars, 11 bags of candy, 2 cups of cereal, a set of razors, ibuprofen and pads?" one boy questioned as he noticed said items on the chair.

"What? I don't know when Aunt Flow decides to visit. I'm nearly out anyways." the girl retorted.

"That's just disgusting." the other guy said.

"Oh shut up, Jared! I'm a girl, I can't help it!" the girl protested. "You probably got the razors for shaving the forest on your face."

"I don't like it when I've got a beard. I don't know how Ethan can stand it." The boy known as Jared told her.

"I just like to grow it out. But don't start arguing, you two. We need to find more drinks and probably more food before next week's heist." the tall boy identified as Ethan commented and broke up their argument.

"Ethan's right. What other stores or gas stations should we hit next?" the last guy asked.

"There's the Speedway over on Merch Street or maybe the other store over by Chinatown." the girl guessed.

"Chinatown's too far away and I can't remember if that Speedway is the hangout for most cops. I guess we can try Speedway. You got it, Sophie?" Ethan asked and Sophie nodded.

"I dunno, guys. But are you up for it, Ben?" Jared asked the last guy.

"Sure. But if anyone sees a cop, don't freak out." Ben said and they got ready for another trip out.

"Does anyone got an extra 5?" Sophie asked.

"Take this, but don't ask for anymore." Ben said and gave Sophie a 5 dollar bill. "The rest is for our phones."

"Why did you have to get those phones from the Purple Dragons? They're nothing but trouble." Sophie asked Jared.

"Well, be glad we actually have something to communicate with." Jared retorted. "C'mon. We've gotta go."

The teens got ready for another 'shopping spree' and they exited their building. It was time for a second heist.

**Sophie POV**

We took a shortcut over to the Speedway and just our luck, no cops were there. I sighed in relief, looks like this will be easy.

I entered the store first and immediately went on over to the drinks. I peeked around at the cameras and I realized I was gonna need some assistance. Jared and Ethan had entered the store together after me and Ben stayed outside as our watch man.

I notioned for Ethan to come over and shield my arms from view so I could sneak some drinks into my pockets. One of the first things they taught me to do was sneak items into the clothes I had on without being seen by anyone. It was a bit tricky at first, but I got the hang of it with Ethan's help.

Once my pockets were full, I stuffed a few more drinks into my sweatpants before moving on to some snacks. Pringles, Lays, onion rings, cups of cereal could all fit into my sweatpants and not make a sound if I moved the right way.

"Amy said that I couldn't go out with a guy like him because he's way out of my league." I pretended to have a conversation with Ethan as someone else came into our aisle. "I don't know if she's jealous, but that bitch needs to back off if she knows what's good for her or else I'll kick her ass."

"Or better yet, just go up and kiss him right in front of her. That'll show her who's the boss." Ethan played along and grabbed a couple bags of candy. "Which do you think would be more chapter?"

"The Jolly Ranchers." I answered and we got those for our actual groceries.

We walked over towards Jared and he gave us a thumbs up. That meant he was all packed up and ready to go. I gave him a thumbs up back because I got all that I could carry. We went to the front of the store to pay and my eyes widened once I saw what was on that wall.

It was a bulletin board for missing kids and I was on that particular one. It showed a picture of me before I went missing and and aged progressed photo of what I look like now. And that had a strong resemblance to me right now. Making sure the cashier didn't notice, I nudged Ethan on the arm and pointed to the board with my eyebrow. He followed my gaze and nodded. He knew I had to get outta here.

"You go on and pay. I'm going on to the car." I said and kept my head low as I walked out the door.

I seriously hoped that the cashier didn't recognize me. I walked out and saw Ben out at a random car.

"What're you doing?" he asked as I walked over.

"There was a missing children billboard past the cashier and I was on it. I had to get out before he recognized me." I explained and noticed that he had his pick lock in his hand, which I raised an eyebrow at. "What're you doing with that?"

"Oh, I was hoping to get anything valuable out of this car, but I was gonna wait until you all got out of there to do it." Ben explained and I looked in the car.

There wasn't much in the car other than a purse and what looked like a stereo speaker. But maybe Jared and Ben could sell the speaker to these Purple Dragons. Jared had stumbled upon them one day and made some sort of deal with them. They gave us money and phones to help us 4 keep in touch with each other in exchange for some nice things. And I bet that speaker would get us a little more moola.

"That stereo maybe good for to see Purple Dragon guys." I said and Ben nodded.

"I was just thinking that. Anything to give us a little more cash." Ben said and twirled his pick lock in his hand.

"When are Ethan and I gonna meet these guys?" I asked. "You and Jared are the only ones who seen them."

"Maybe you guys get to meet them later when we pay for our phones and hand over the speaker." Ben said as the others came outside with a few bags.

"Sophie, why did you bail on us?" Jared asked as they approached.

"Didn't you see the missing children billboard behind the cashier? My face was on it and if the cashier noticed, we'd be fucked over." I explained.

"Don't you have those fake colored contacts we stole for you?" Jared asked. "Why don't you wear those and dye your hair blonde?"

"Jared, you know we don't have the time or money to get my hair dyed and those contacts made my eyes itch so bad." I retorted. "Plus, the left contact popped out the last time I wore them. I can't go out having one brown eye and one blue eye."

"Don't leave us alone next time. I think that cashier got suspicious." Jared argued and I sighed.

Jared didn't seem to like me as much, even after I joined the group. At first I thought it was because I'm a girl, but that didn't seem to be the case. Ethan stuck up with me and sometimes Ben did, too.

"We can argue this out later. Ben found this speaker that looks like a good thing to give to your Purple Dragon buddies." I said and motioned to the car. "We probably don't have much time to get it and move, so we can still argue or take this thing. It's your move."

I crossed my arms to mean business as Jared sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine. But when we go find you some new contacts, I'll make sure they're pink." Jared stormed and I rolled my eyes at his pathetic threat.

I know Jared would do worse, but Ethan would let him have it if any of them touched me wrong. I made sure to return the favor whenever one of them was being hard on Ethan by smacking them with what I had near or hacking into their phones and changing the passwords.

Making sure no one was around or looking, Ben got to work on picking the door lock. I just hoped and prayed that the owner doesn't show up or the alarm won't go off.

"You done yet?" Ethan asked after a minute.

"Yes!" Ben cheered as the door opened and no alarm sounded.

"Hurry, get the speaker and move!" Jared ordered and we did as told.

Ethan, Ben and I grabbed the speaker and Jared locked the car door before slamming it shut.

"C'mon, c'mon!" I pant as we quickly walked down a deserted street and then an alley.

We took it slow with the speaker so we wouldn't drop it in the alleys and did our best not to look suspicious as we carried it by some people. They didn't pay attention to us and we finally went into our alley to our building. Jared helped maneuver the speaker inside and I peeked back out into the dark alley to see if anyone saw us.

Once the coast was clear, I blocked the window with the large piece of wood that kept out and intruders as acted as a front door. Ethan turned on the lights and I looked at Jared.

"No one followed us. We're good." I said and he nodded once.

"Ok, what did everyone get?" Jared asked and I started fishing everything out of my clothes.

Just like before, we separated what we got into their respected piles.

"We got more cereal and drinks." Ben announced and shivered as he pulled something else out of his pants. "I even snagged one of these."

"Whoa, dude! Where did you find a group serving microwaveable dinner?" Ethan asked as I gazed in wonder at the large box.

It's very rare that we get to eat something that isn't from a gas station. Anything that we steal from stores are small and sometimes barely enough to ration off of. Anything bigger than a small bag of chips is a jackpot. Usually we don't starve as much during those weeks.

"It was in a car. I noticed that this one car had a whole bunch of groceries in the backseat and I decided to take a chance. I only got that before someone started making their way to the car and I had to bail." Ben explained and shivered again. "The only place it could fit was in my pants and it was hard trying to move around with it stuck to my thighs."

"It's a nice find. And with the bounty we got, we shouldn't starve as much this week." Jared said as he looked around at our stash.

"Do we have anything else to do today?" Ethan asked as we started putting up the stuff.

"We have to turn in the speaker." Jared answered. "You and Sophie are welcome to join us."

"Where did you say their headquarters were at? Chinatown?" I asked.

"Yes. We plan on meeting then on the outskirts of Chinatown. There we'll hop in their car and carry the speaker that way." Jared explained as he read through his messages. "We'll never make it carrying the speaker through alleys and someone will more than likely spot us."

"So how are we gonna sneak the speaker around to Chinatown?" Ethan asked.

"We borrow a shopping cart and put a blanket over the speaker. Anyone who thinks we look suspicious yells at us, we run like hell." Jared explained.

"Seems good enough." Ben commented and I sat on the couch.

"What's up with you?" Ethan asked as he sat next to me.

"I feel like I'm useless right now." I answered and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Other than helping with the good runs, there's really nothing else I can do. It makes me feel useless."

"You're not useless, Sophie." Ethan said and wrapped his long arms around me in a comforting hug.

"Then why do they hate me?" I asked and pointed with my head to the other two who were in a deep conversation.

"They don't hate you." Ethan said.

"Don't lie to me. I know they do. Well, Ben is more friendly than Jared, but he doesn't like me." I retorted. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not even playing my part. I know I shouldn't give any fucks about why they hate me, but I don't wanna be the end of the group."

"You're not gonna be the end of the group. What made you think like that?" Ethan asked.

"Look at me, Ethan! I'm nothing but a liability to the group. What use am I if I can only go out for food runs?" I asked.

"I have an idea. These guys can probably help you get a fake ID. Then you can work with me somewhere." Ethan said and I pondered over it.

I could go with Ethan to get a part time job and help us with our money problems. I've never had a job, even back in Plano. Even though I've spent nearly 2 years on New York streets, Ethan said it might've been best for me to lay low until the news about my escape blown over. It's been 2 years and I finally turned 15, so hopefully no one looks at me and notices me.

"I can do that. But where would I find a job where no one would recognize me?" I asked and looked at him.

"We'll have to do some research later." Ethan answered. "But I can promise you, Sophie, you're not useless or a liability. Don't doubt yourself."

"Thanks, Ethan." I said and leaned my head over on his shoulder.

"You're welcome." Ethan chuckled and pat my head.

We both ate one snack each and I had to refrain from eating more. Even though we had a good haul, every snack had to be saved for another day. Our bodies suffer from malnutrition. I remember that we went about a week without food and I lost about 5 to 7 pounds. We stock up on water and other drinks because we need water more than food. Anything and everything we get is precious to us and we use it the best we can.

"Guys, we're getting the cart. We meet up at the corner of Hoover and Pearl and tag along with the Purple Dragons back to their headquarters. Once we get the phones paid and sell off the speaker, that's all we're doing today." Jared ordered. "We can take tomorrow off of doing anything. Any questions?"

"Sophie wants a fake ID and find a job with me. Can your Purple Dragon buddies help us?" Ethan asked.

"Has it been long enough to let the air flow out from the last time we had jobs?" Ben asked. "The last time that one guy caught us with the fake IDs and we had to split real fast."

"Maybe it's time we can all get jobs again. This'll be your first job on the lam, Sophie." Jared said with a smirk, but it was a malicious smirk.

"Yeah. Ethan told me the do's and don'ts while having a job. I just need to do something with my appearance and I'm all set." I said and never averted my gaze, not faulting under his smirk.

"It's settled then. We can look for jobs tomorrow but for now we need to focus on the task at hand." Jared said and we formed a plan.

Ethan and I would get a shopping cart and once we have the speaker loaded on it, we would meet the Purple Dragons at the meeting point. Hopefully the Purple Dragons would be there with the car and get us to their headquarters. I packed my bag with a few things I needed. I had an extra wig just in case and some nicer clothes than the dirty T-shirt, hoodie and holed jeans I had on. I brushed through my hair to make it look more presentable and threw on my hoodie.

"You ready yet?" Ethan asked as he put his hoodie on.

"Yep." I answered and put my bag over my shoulder.

We all exited the room and went outside. We all went to our designated spots and I kept my head down. Ethan and I headed out to the nearest grocery store and found a stray cart sitting out of the way. Making sure no one was looking, we both ran out of the parking lot as fast as our legs could carry us. We took a short cut down the nearest alley and ran through the deserted streets. We made it to our respective alley and walked over to where Jared and Ben were waiting.

"You're here." Jared said as he and Ben started to set the speaker in the cart.

"Does everyone have everything they need?" Ben asked and I nodded; everything I needed was with me.

"Even though we get a lot of stuff from them, the Purple Dragons can't be completely trusted. They can still steal from us the way we steal from others and try to re-sell it to us." Jared explained. "Just keep a sharp eye out and don't put your phone in your back pocket."

"Yes, sir." I mocked a salute and he sent a small glare back.

"Make sure you have everything you need for your fake ID. And try not to lose your contacts this time." Jared said.

"I'm still out of those. But hopefully these Purple Dragons have some." I said and crossed my arms.

"So, are we ready to roll out yet, boss?" Ethan joked and stood by me.

"Yeah. And remember to not attract attention." Jared ordered and we started moving.

Luckily, there were hardly any people on the first few streets. That made it easier to move around and maneuver the cart out in the street. Whenever there was a more busier street, Ethan and I would scope out the place before we would let the others move.

"Hang on, we need to cross the street." Jared said as we came across a busy street. "We need to get to the next alley over there. That's where they'll be waiting for us."

"There's a cop car over there." Ethan said as he peeked around the corner of the building. "How do we get past him?"

"We have to dash across the street. There's no other way or else we'll be late." Jared said as he examined the cop car.

"Wait a minute!" Ben said as he peeked around the corner and I followed his gaze.

The cop in the drivers seat got out and walked into a nearby coffee shop. From what I could tell, the other was falling asleep in the drivers seat.

"Is he really sleeping right now?" I asked in disbelief and Ethan peeked back out.

"Wow. Real smooth, NYPD." Ethan scoffed and we turned to Jared. "Should we run while we got the chance?"

"Yes, go!" Jared ordered and we all made a mad dash to the other side of the street, cart in tow.

A car honked at us and I ran faster as Ethan dashed on by me. We all made it to the alley and Ben looked back out.

"Did they see us?" I asked, out of breath.

"I don't think so." Ben panted and looked around the alley. "Where are they?"

"They'll be here. I know it." Jared stated and we played the waiting game.

I watched the cop come out of the coffee shop and sit in his vehicle with the other guy. I rolled my eyes. No wonder we haven't been caught yet, the cops here are so stupid. But I guess I have to thank them for being that stupid. Before I could ponder anymore about them, a white van pulled up on the other side of the alley and pulled up beside of us.

"Is that the merchandise?" a Chinese man asked as he rolled down the window.

"It's right here, Fong." Jared said as we all went to the back of the van. "We have a couple more favors to ask you. Hope that's ok with you."

"Anything for a friend, Jared." this Fong guy said.

I opened the door to the van and Ethan and Ben loaded the speaker inside. I noticed another Chinese guy with a moustache sitting back there and eyed us warily.

"Make sure our guests are comfortable on the way back to the shop, Tsoi." Fong's voice called from the front.

"Sure thing." Tsoi answered as I got inside and Jared followed.

Once the doors closed, the van idled slowly out of the alley and into the street.

"Tsoi, you've already met Ben and I. Meet our best friend, Ethan, and the other girl, Sophie." Jared introduced us with a point.

I hid a small frown by the way he introduced me and looked at the guy named Tsoi. His eyes trailed over my body and I shifted a bit in my seat.

"So that's who that little number is in the back?" the huge person in the passenger seat said. "I remember you telling us you had a girl hanging with you. You didn't tell me she was _that_ hot!"

I blushed a bit and looked down. No one has ever told me anything like that in my life. It felt a little foreign.

"She's not into dating." Ethan said.

"You sure? I wouldn't mind buying her." the large guy said and I frowned.

"I'm not for sale and I'm not interested." I said, firmly.

"Sid, knock it off. Don't scare the little cutie away." Fong ordered as an audible slap was heard. "We still have a few favors to pull from them."

"Ah, I was just joking! I didn't mean it. Ok, baby?" Sid called and I rolled my eyes.

"Sure. Whatever." I said and used Caroline's old phrase.

Even though I tried not to think about her, Caroline's face popped in my mind and I tried to shake the image out of my head. I was silent the rest of the trip while Jared talked with Ethan.

"Ok, we're here. Tsoi, Sid, you two get the merchandise and I'll talk to our guests." Fong ordered as he parked the van in another alley.

I got out and held the doors open for Sid and Tsoi as they got the speaker and the others got out behind them.

"Thanks, baby." Sid winked at me and I ignored him.

I followed Ben inside where we were led into a room with chairs.

"So, what other favors did you need from us?" Fong asked as he sat in a chair and we all sat down in a free chair.

"We came here to pay off our phones as well as get new IDs." Jared answered. "Sophie decided that she wants to get a job and it's been a while since we've had one. I figured that we'd go ahead and get new IDs while we have the chance."

"A working girl. Nice." Fong said as he glanced at me. "Well, if you give us your phones, we'll check them over and give them the all clear for any viruses."

"We can go ahead and get someone for a new ID now." Sid said.

"I'll go first." Ben volunteered.

We all handed Fong our phones so he and Tsoi could check them and Ben followed Sid over in another room. I sat in the chair next to Ethan once it was free.

"Well, this has gone pretty well." I said as Jared talked with Fong.

"Yeah. But I agree with Jared to not trust them." Ethan said. "Ben told me that the phones we have are stolen and they managed to reset them and make it to where they can't be tracked by anyone. I wonder how they do that?"

"Who knows? Maybe they're magic." I joked and Ethan smirked.

"Yeah, magically making everything disappear." Ethan chuckled. "Do you need any help getting ready for your picture?"

"Yeah. You think you can help straighten out this wig?" I asked as I dug out the things I needed from my bag.

I had a blonde wig in a plastic bag that I often used whenever we went out places that had police. I would look like an average blonde girl with blue eyes if I had my contacts in.

"Do you think they can photo shop my eye color since I don't have my contacts?" I asked Ethan as I brushed through my real hair.

"I think they can. We'll have to ask." Ethan answered as he took the wig out of the bag and made sure there were no knots in it.

I put my regular hair up in a bun and slipped the cap that covers my real hair. Ethan put the wig on carefully and made sure that none of my real hair or the cap was showing.

"Ok, you're good." Ethan said and I brushed my fingers through my fake hair.

"She actually looks better as a blonde." Tsoi said and he walked over to me with my phone in his hand. "Maybe you should just dye your hair blonde. And your phone is fixed."

"Thanks." I said as I took my phone and he eyed me again.

"It's your turn, sweetheart. Rocking the blonde hair!" Sid said and eyed me up and down.

"Thanks. I don't have them in, but I had fake blue contacts that I wore once. Is there any way you can change the color of my eyes to blue in the picture?" I asked, shrugging off his attempt at flirting.

Sid hummed in thought and looked closely at my eyes.

"I'll do what I can. If I can't do blue, then you're gonna have to go with green or hazel." Sid said and I nodded.

"As long as it's anything but brown." I said and he led me over to a chair in front of a back drop.

I sat in the chair and he got a camera ready.

"Smile, sweetheart." Sid said and I only put on a small smile.

Sid snapped the picture and I stood up as he motioned me over to a computer.

"Ok, your picture looks really good. What name will you pick and what age?" Sid asked.

My picture didn't look much like me and I know the best name to use to throw people off track.

"I want the age 18 and the name Marisabella Renee Hyde." I said and Sid looked at me with confusion.

"How do you even _spell_ that?" Sid asked and I spelled it for him.

"I got your age, just let me see if I can change your eye color." Sid said and got back to work on my ID as Ethan stepped over.

"You good?" he asked.

"Almost. He just needs to change my eye color." I answered and I watched Sid do his best at changing the eye color in the picture.

"I got the brightest shade of blue. Will that work?" Sid asked as he stepped aside to show me.

I didn't even recognize myself with those color eyes. I'm pretty sure if I had on a cheerleading outfit, I would look like one of those self-obsessed, glorified Barbies.

"Whoa, that's impressive. I like that." I murmured and held my hand our for a handshake. "You guys are good."

"Thanks, sweetheart." Sid winked and I counted every second he held my hand.

"Alright, my turn." Ethan said and I stopped shaking Sid's hand.

I stood by and let Sid make Ethan's new ID. It took a few minutes for him to get everything set and the picture to look right. Ethan had decided to erase his beard in the picture, so whenever we get back to the building he'll shave it off. But hopefully he leaves that one long strand of hair that he let grow out on his chin. It was both disgusting, yet cool.

"Your age and name?" Sid asked Ethan.

"Age 18 and the same name as before. Tobias Xander Laine." Ethan answered as Fong, Tsoi and Jared showed up.

"Hold up! The whole point of getting a new ID is for us to choose different names to live by and not get caught!" Jared retorted. "You can't go using the same name over and over again and not expect to get caught! If anything happens, the whole team will fall apart!"

"Chill, dude. I know what I'm doing. Besides, wasn't it you and Ben who nearly got caught that one time? That had absolutely nothing to do with me." Ethan argued. "You took the last ID and threw it in a trashcan fire. I think the last name I used should still be fine."

"No, it won't be fine. You'll end up getting caught and you'll end up in jail." Jared argued back.

"I'm almost 18 and if the law around here sucks, then I may end up getting out and living on my own where I don't have to stay with you hovering over me 24/7!" Ethan raised his voice.

There was a small silence as Jared and Ethan had an intense stare down. My eyes flicked back and forth between them both as the tension rose. The Purple Dragons were looking at them and each one had a weapon of choice. Fong had a butcher knife, Sid and an axe beside him and Tsoi had a sledgehammer. Thinking quick before blood could be spilled, I got up out of my seat and got between them.

"Ok, guys, think rationally! Don't be a bunch of high school pussies fighting!" I said and they both kept glaring at each other. "We aren't gonna get anywhere with you both fighting! If anything, suck it up until we get out of here and grow the balls to make up."

There was another small silence with tension so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Jared finally crossed his arms and broke their glare off.

"Ok, fine. But if you get caught, it was nice knowing you." Jared said and he walked over to Sid, who put down his weapon.

I silently sighed in relief as the Purple Dragons put away their weapons and got back to their own business. They still eyed use warily, but I ignored them and pat Ethan on the shoulder.

"Is there any reason why you nearly had a fist fight with Jared?" I asked and he led me away to the corner.

"Yeah. He's being a dick and I want to keep that name." Ethan glared at the wall and crossed his arms.

"Why do you wanna keep that name when you've already used it before?" I asked and stood in front of him, making him quit glaring at the wall. "Stop glaring at the wall, dude. It hasn't done anything to you."

"I may have used that name before, but I wanted to keep it because you were more familiar to it." Ethan said and I shook my head.

"You didn't have to do that for me." I said. "We could've found a different name and I would've gotten used to it."

"Well, I'm still Tobias Xander Laine. And we still have plenty of time to find another name." Ethan said and I nodded.

"Ok. But don't start another bitch fight with anyone. It's not worth it." I said and he nodded while giving me a hug.

"Here's your IDs. Don't lose them or else you're shit outta luck." Sid said as he handed us our new IDs.

"Thanks a lot, fellas. We owe you." Jared said and Fong chuckled.

"Well, we do kinda owe you for our last encounter." Fong said and I wondered about what happened.

"So, what do we owe you today?" Jared asked and Fong looked over a small list in his hand.

"That speaker was a good find and it looks like a newer model. So, you're giving it to us for about 100, 120, give or take a few." Fong said and he squinted at his list. "Just add in the total for your IDs and phones and you owe us about 98 in total. You wanna use that speaker money for it?"

"Sure. It hasn't been that low in a long time, even without Sophie." Jared said with some relief in his voice and I frowned.

I know I cost too much, but I pay my end of the deal. Fong handed Jared over some money and my stomach growled. Shit. I guess that one bag of chips didn't hold me down like I thought. I couldn't get anything else from our stash today, so it looks like I have to try to find something else to munch on.

"Alright, we're heading out." Jared announced and it broke me from my thoughts. "We'll see you guys next time. Let's go."

I walked with them out of the room to where they kept their loot. Just before we could walk out the door, the lights go out and a window broke.

"THEY'RE BACK!" Fong's voice shouted and I jumped.

"What's going on?" I asked and someone grabbed my hand. I let myself get pulled away by them and I was soon out the door.

"I don't know who broke in, but I don't wanna find out!" Jared said as he and Ben busted through the doorway. Follow us and we'll get out of here! Here, shove this in your bag!"

Jared shoved some sort of device in my hands and I barely had time to register what it is before Ethan pulled me along to follow Jared and Ben down the alley. Some of the alleys were connected and we ran down those, only stopping when we came to more crowded parts of the streets.

"You think we're far away yet?" I asked, panting as we stopped in another alley.

"I think we're good." Jared said and looked at me. "Did you put that thing in your bag?" I shook my head and gave it to him.

"I didn't really have the time since Ethan had to drag me along to catch up with you two." I said and Jared eyed the device in his hands. "What is that thing?"

"It's an Atari Portfolio." Jared answered as he checked it.

This Atari Portfolio looked a bit strange. It had a long cord coming from one end to what looked like an age old laptop.

"Wait, you stole that back from them?" Ethan asked and I raised an eyebrow.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked.

"We used to have the Atari Portfolio a long time ago, but we had to trade it in when we were really low on cash." Ben explained and I nodded.

"What does this do?" I asked.

"It's supposed to hack ATM machines. You stick the end of the cord onto a credit card and you type in some stuff to find the PIN number and viola! Instant money!" Ethan explained and I remembered something about this.

"Hey, isn't that from the second Terminator movie?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah! I hardly believed it myself." Ethan said with a smile.

"We used it whenever we had to. Hopefully they won't notice that it's missing." Ben commented.

"Why did you take it? And who broke into their building?" I asked.

"I honestly don't know who broke into their building, but I took this because I thought we might need it in the future." Jared explained. "Whoever must've broke in was gonna steal something anyways, so I might as well take back what was ours."

"Can't argue with that logic. We may need that sometime in the future." Ben said and my stomach growled again.

I needed food and I had a good way to get some, but I need to get away from Jared if I'm gonna do this.

"Ethan and I are going out to get new fake contacts for me. We'll be back soon." I said and Ethan followed me out into the street.

"Any reason why you got away from them so quickly?" Ethan asked as he pulled on his hood.

"Because I need a break from Jared and I wanted to try something new." I answered and we started to come across the small store that sold the fake contacts. "Besides, I figured that you would want some space between you and Jared after what happened with the Purple Dragons."

"Yeah, that's true." Ethan muttered.

"But first, we need to get these babies and then I can explain to you what we're doing." I said and we went inside.

The cashier was already busy with someone and I went over to the fake contacts. Luckily, there were no cameras over there so it was easy for us to get them. I grabbed the closest shade of blue that my eyes looked like in the photo and nodded at Ethan. We both exited the store and ran like hell through the alleys until we were far away enough.

"Ok...what was the thing you were gonna tell me about?" Ethan asked as we walked out into the streets.

"I got this from someone before, but you can hack into vending machines and stuff like that. I just need the right ones." I said and we stopped in front of a vending machine.

No one was around yet, so I got to work quickly. I got a few pennies out of my pocket that were wrapped in 2 layers of foil to use as quarters and a couple of quarters. I got the money in the drink machine, chose a Coke and held the flap. I hit return 5 times and out came regular quarters. I grabbed my drink and the quarters and handed them to Ethan.

"Whoa, that actually worked?" he asked with wide eyes.

"In all honesty, I didn't know it would work at all." I said and he repeated the hack and got a Dr. Pepper.

"What about that one?" Ethan asked as he pointed to the vending machine that had snacks.

"Let's hope this one works." I prayed as I studied this one.

This vending machine was one where you had to type in a code for a snack. I looked at my hand where I written down the code for this kind of hack. I typed in 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 1 and I choose a bag of Lays potato chips, a bag of pretzels and a little thing of cookies before I couldn't get anything else. Ethan's mouth dropped open as the snacks came down and I grabbed them.

"Whoa, it worked!" Ethan cheered and I smiled.

I handed him a bag of chips and I remembered something else I read.

"There's one more I've gotta try." I said and turned back to the snack machine.

"That's gonna have to wait." Ethan said as he shoved on his hood and I saw some people headed towards us.

"Shit." I muttered and we walked away as they stopped at the machines.

"What was that hack you were gonna try and where did you find out those things?" Ethan asked as we climbed up a fire escape in another alley.

"I got them off of a website and I was gonna use the same code for the snack machine and press the return button of 5 seconds. It's supposed to spit out money." I said.

"You should've done that first." Ethan said and I shrugged.

"Maybe next time." I said and my stomach growled.

Not wanting to wait any longer, I opened the bag of pretzels and started to eat while Ethan got into the chips.

"Did you plan on telling Jared and Ben about this?" Ethan asked as we continued eating.

"I will once I tried all of the hacks. I'd rather have the ones that will work with me when I tell them instead of having one not work and Jared rips my head off." I said and sipped my Coke.

"Sounds reasonable." Ethan said and we slipped into a small silence as we ate.

I almost embraced the silence as I finished off my pretzels and Ethan lifted the bag of chips to his lips to get the crumbs. I wish that I could've got another bag of chips or something because I know we're both starving and the only thing left was the pack of cookies.

"You want those?" I pointed to the pack of cookies and tossed the empty bag of pretzels into the open dumpster below.

"No, you have them." Ethan denied as he tossed his trash into the dumpster.

"How about we share?" I asked and Ethan looked conflicted.

I know he's starving, we're always starving. There were some days that I could lift up my shirt and see my ribcage poking out. It scared me a lot and I would sometimes see Ethan turn into a living skeleton. But Ethan nodded and we shared the cookies.

"You don't think we're gonna starve to death, do you?" I asked and Ethan shrugged.

"I dunno. We survived this long, there's no need to worry." Ethan said and I shrugged as I nibbled on a cookie.

"So, what's gonna happen when we get jobs? Do we do part time or full time jobs?" I asked.

"I usually pull for part time jobs and the other two get full time ones." Ethan explained and I nodded.

"Where are we gonna find part time jobs at?" I asked. "Most of the places around here are houses and stuff. Why can't we go around the more popular parts of New York?"

"Jared gets paranoid that someone will find us out up there and people are less caring up there." Ethan said. "But when we were walking through part of Chinatown when we were leaving the Purple Dragons, I seen a help wanted sign in a Chinese restaurant. Maybe we can check out that place tomorrow when we go job hunting."

"You don't think they're just looking for one person, do you?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I have no idea. Are you scared of splitting up from me?" Ethan asked as he munched another cookie.

"Yeah. It'll be my first job and I have no idea what to do." I admitted and chugged the last of my Coke.

"It'll be ok. How about this: I stay with you for your first job until you're comfortable?" Ethan offered and I smiled as he finished the last cookie.

"That'll be great. Thank you, Ethan." I said and hugged him.

"Your welcome." he said and hugged me back. "We should be getting back. I know Jared and he'll flip if we're not back."

"Don't you mean if _you_ aren't back?" I asked as we broke the hug and get down from the fire escape.

"Don't be like that!" Ethan said as we walked back to our home.

"You know it's true." I said and we trudged on.

We walked back to our home of 2 years in silence and kept our heads down. We went inside and Jared stared at us.

"Did you get them?" he asked and I nodded while showing him. "Good. We were about to discuss what we're doing tomorrow. Did you want to join us?"

"No thanks. We've already got a place to check out tomorrow." Ethan said and Jared had some malice in his eyes as Ethan told him.

"Well, good for you guys." Jared said with no joy in his voice.

There was another small silence and I decided that I've had enough for one day.

"I'm crashing. Goodnight, everyone." I announced and they all said their goodnights.

I walked out to what was used as a large storage closet. I made that one my room and closed myself off from the boys. I changed into and old holed T-shirt and found some extremely ripped short shorts. I curled up onto the pile of blankets that served as a bed and pulled them onto me to conserve warmth. I laid there for a few more moments just trying to find the will to fall asleep.

Some nights I would have nightmares that led me to staying up half the night. But I needed sleep for tomorrow, so I finally closed my eyes where my dreams were plagued with the hot, Texas sun and the familiar faces of my family.

**Jeez, it took forever to get this down. Well, there's not much excitement in this and it mainly tells how they all survived over the course of a few years.**

**Just a few things, for one, I don't know if that Atari Portfolio works from the Terminator movie. I decided to add it because it sounded like it would help them. Don't actually go around trying to find one and use it and the information I got from it wasn't on Wikipedia. So hopefully I got everything down pat.**

**Second, I don't know if those vending machine hacks really work, I haven't even got the chance to try them out. In all honesty, I got them from a joke app, but I decided that they would work in the story to help them get free food. If you wanna try it, be my guest and tell me if they work or not.**

**I believe that's all for now until the next update.**

**Please read and review and no flames, please! :)**


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